Strasbourg, 12 October 2009 ACFC/SR/III(2009)009 THIRD REPORT SUBMITTED BY CROATIA PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 25, PARAGRAPH 1 OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES (Received on 12 October 2009) OFFICE FOR NATIONAL MINORITIES Government of the Republic of Croatia THIRD REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES JUNE 2009. C O N T E N T S: INTRODUCTORY REMARKS..................................................................................................................1 PART I.................................................................................................................................................3 OVERVIEW OF THE IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL MINORITY RIGHTS IN THE PAST FOUR-YEAR PERIOD ...........................................................................................................................................................3 PROGRAMMES FOR THE ROMA..……………………………………………………………….19 PART II..............................................................................................................................................23 With reference to articles 3 and 4 of the Framework Convention .....................................................23 With reference to article 5 of the Framework Convention.................................................................27 With reference to articles 5, 6 and 9 of the Framework Convention..................................................31 With reference to articles 7 and 8 of the Framework Convention......................................................36 With reference to article 9 of the Framework Convention.................................................................38 With reference to articles 10 and 11 of the Framework Convention: right to a minority language.....45 With reference to articles 12, 13 and 14 of the Framework Convention............................................53 With reference to article 15 of the Framework Convention...............................................................64 With reference to articles 17 and 18 of the Framework Convention..................................................75 PART III.............................................................................................................................................80 MONITORING OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION.................................80 APPENDICES - From the reports of national minority associations on the implementation of the framework convention of national minority - Funds allocated by The office for national minorities through the commission for monitoring implementation of national programme for the Roma during the reporting period - Funds allocated by The office for national minorities through the working group for monitoring implementation of the action plan fopr the decade of Roma inclusion 2005- 2015 during the reporting period - Allocation of funds for the preservation of Roma traditional culture - Projects for Roma - Conclusion of the seminar on implementation of the framework conversation for the protection of national minoretis held in Vukovar on 15 october 2007 - Conclusion of the seminar on implementation of the framework conversation for the protection of national minoretis held in Peroj 14-16 september 2006 - Conclusion of the seminar on implementation of the framework conversation for the protection of national minoretis held in Split on 15 ana 16 september 2005 - Conclusion of the seminar on implementation of the framework conversation for the protection of national minoretis held in Cavtat on 20 and 21 september 2004 - Free legal aid act - Anti-discrimination act - Regulation On Changes and Amendments to the Regulation on the Office for National Minorities - Law on the amendments to the criminal code, 2008 - Law on the amendments to the criminal code, 2006 1 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS All ministries and other government bodies tasked with the implementation of the various parts of the Framework Convention have participated in the drafting of this report. The compilation of the report has been coordinated by the Office for National Minorities. All national minorities have been asked to make contributions consisting of their positions and opinions on the implementation of the Framework Convention. All the received opinions and proposals have been incorporated into the integrated report that will be submitted to the Council of Europe by the Government of the Republic of Croatia. With the aim of involving national minority representatives as much as possible in the drafting of the report, on 1 December 2008 the Office for National Minorities and the Council of Europe organized a seminar on the implementation of the Framework Convention. Around 50 people participated in the discussion: representatives of minority associations, national minority deputies in the Croatian Parliament, and representatives of the Council for National Minorities of the Republic of Croatia. The conclusion was reached that legislative and material preconditions for a full implementation of national minority rights have been met, especially as pertains to cultural autonomy. During the discussion on the effectiveness of participation of national minorities in the decision-making process, minority representatives requested that the report include the most recent legislative amendments and up-to-date information on representation of national minority members in state administration bodies. As for the part of the report that deals with exercising the religious rights of national minorities, it is important to include the data on the regular financial support that religious communities receive from the central state budget. Regarding the information activities aimed at national minorities, a request was voiced to include in the report the data on national minority programmes that are financed by the Fund for Promotion of Diversity and Pluralism in the Electronic Media, which has at its disposal 3% of the mandatory licence fee for Croatian Radio and Television paid in the Republic of Croatia. In practice, the greatest success has been achieved in the field of education in the languages and scripts of national minorities. The tendency is to involve children of majority ethnicity in the instruction of national minority pupils, which contributes to the cultural and linguistic diversity. In the future, efforts should be made to raise the quality of teaching, with the goal of stimulating interest in such schooling among minority members. Representatives of national minorities requested that the report include more information on the results achieved in the implementation of the National Programme for the Roma and the Action Plan for the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015. During the follow-up process of consultation with representatives of national minorities, various seminars for councils and representatives of national minorities were held: for the County of Primorje-Gorski Kotar and the County of Istria a seminar was held on 24 April 2009, and for the County of Sisak-Moslavina and the County of Karlovac a seminar was held on 18 May 2009. On these occasions, the results and difficulties encountered by councils and representatives of national 1 2 minorities were further discussed, which was useful for the drafting of the Third Report on the Implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The report was amended in line with proposals made by representatives of national minorities. The appendix includes proposals by national minority associations and the opinion of the Council for National Minorities of the Republic of Croatia. 2 3 PART I OVERVIEW OF THE IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONAL MINORITY RIGHTS IN THE PAST FOUR-YEAR PERIOD The Government of the Republic of Croatia submitted its second report on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in March 2004. In the four years since the last report was submitted, active involvement of government bodies and national minority representatives has resulted in further improvement of national minority rights. The legislative framework has been elaborated with the aim of enabling national minorities to fully exercise their rights, and measures have been adopted to stimulate better implementation of the Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities and other legal regulations. In that respect, the Government of the Republic of Croatia has secured implementation capacities in the relevant government bodies, and year after year it has been increasing the funds allocated for exercising national minority rights. Progress has also been supported by funds approved by the European Commission for the improvement of living conditions among the most vulnerable national minority, the Roma, and by the funds of the Roma Education Fund of the Decade of Roma Inclusion (REF). In the past period, the Government of the Republic of Croatia has dedicated particular attention to the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, and each year it has organized round tables with national minority representatives in a different county with the goal of discussing all open issues that national minorities have faced, and encouraging the implementation of all articles of the Framework Convention. The first seminar was held in the County of Dubrovnik-Neretva, the second in the County of Split-Dalmatia,