COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE HEARS RESPONSE OF CROATIA TO ITS QUESTIONS

7 May 2004


The Committee against Torture this afternoon heard the response of Croatia to a series of questions raised by its Experts in which the delegation stated that Croatia was endeavouring to harmonize its legislation to bring it in line with international standards.

The Croatian delegation said the Government had also taken a series of measures to harmonize domestic legislation with that of international treaties to which the State was a party.

In January this year, the Government of Croatia had adopted the Alien Act and another act on asylum seekers should be approved in July. The Government had not granted refugee status to any persons because they had not satisfied the requirements for refugee status, the delegation added.

The Committee will issue its conclusions and recommendations on the report of Croatia on Friday, 14 May at 3 p.m. in the presence of the delegation.

As one of the 135 States parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Croatia must submit periodic reports to the Committee on how it is giving effect to the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Monday, 10 May, it will take up the third periodic report of Chile (CAT/C/39/Add.5).


Response of Croatia

Responding to a series of questions and observations raised by the Committee Experts on Thursday, 6 May, the delegation said, among other things, that any suspect had the right to choose a lawyer as soon as he was detained. The suspect was also allowed to inform his family immediately after arrest.

On the use of coercive measures by the police, the delegation said that in 2002 and 2003, 4,000 such measures had been used. Out of the 20,000 Croatian police officers, 5 per cent of them had used coercive measures. During the use of means of coercion, 814 police officers had been injured in 2002 and 2003, while the number of citizens who sustained injuries as a result of such measures had been 452. The police should report immediately any use of coercive measures.

In January this year, the Government of Croatia had adopted the Alien Act and another act on asylum seekers should be approved in July, the delegation said. In 1997, there had been only one person who applied for asylum, while in 2001, 87; in 2002, 93; and in 2003, 59 individuals had submitted applications. However, since none of them had satisfied the requirements for the refugee status, the Government had not granted any such status to any of them. Since 1998, asylum seekers had lodged 37 complaints against the decisions.

The centre for asylum seekers had been built in 1997 and it did not meet the standards required for that purpose, the delegation said. The centre was now in a modest state of repair. In the meantime, new accommodations had been provided for asylum seekers, run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where the movement of the occupants was restricted.

Cases of racially motivated violence, many of them perpetrated by skinheads, had been identified and the perpetrators had been punished, the delegation said. The Government would continue to prevent the occurrence of such incidents and would punish the authors.

The Government continued to amend its legislation to bring it in line with the international conventions and particularly with that of the European Union conventions pertaining to human rights, the delegation said. The Committee’s conclusions were highly valuable and in the past, they had prompted legislative changes at the national level. A series of measures had also been taken to harmonize domestic legislation with that of the international treaties to which the State was a party.

Asked when Croatia intended to ratify the optional protocol to the Convention against Torture, the delegation said the Government had already signed the instrument in September 2003. The optional protocol would be ratified as soon as the competent authorities in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs completed the ratification process.

On the issue of compensation, the delegation said there were several civil procedures through which victims of torture could claim compensation. A court, depending on the seriousness of the harm caused, could fix the amount. Last year, the Croatian parliament had adopted three laws on compensation with regard to damage committed, including by the police, demonstrations and acts of terrorism.

Responding to a question on the training of judges and public prosecutors, the delegation said that on 18 March, following a decree on the internal organization of the Ministry of Justice, a judicial academy had been set with the aim of training judges and prosecutors. The training was also aimed at bringing the judicial standard to that of the European Union.

Concerning the execution of orders that might constitute an offence, the delegation said that any person receiving from his superiors unlawful orders contrary to his professional performance or in his view causing damage could refuse to execute them. In the event such order was executed, both the officials could be held liable.

The State prosecutor had initiated 3,456 cases of indictment pertaining to war crimes since 1992, the delegation said, adding that 1,133 cases had been interrupted due to lack of inaccessibility to the indicted persons. However, 248 persons had been indicted for war crimes in 1997, including Croatians, Serbs and others. In 2003, 9 Croatians and 44 Serbians had been indicted for war crimes.

The procurator general of Croatia had submitted reports and documents to The Hague International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Court’s procurator had appreciated the cooperation, the delegation said. The Court’s attention was also drawn to the efforts of the Government in locating and finding those persons wanted by the Court.

Since 1999, a centre had been established in Croatia’s prison to train the staff of correctional institutions, the delegation said. The training also included judicial police staff and medical personnel. The training was based on international standards and followed the examples of some European States that had achieved excellent prison administration.

The delegation said that no prison facility looked like a warehouse as had been alluded to by one of the Experts. All prisoners enjoyed the rights prescribed in the law. They participated in recreational activities provided by the prison facilities.