COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONTINUES REVIEW OF INITIAL REPORT OF CROATIA

CESCR
27th session
19 November 2001
Afternoon




Delegation Questioned on Discrimination on Grounds of Sex,
Race and Age, Violence against Women, Trafficking in Persons,
and Sexual Harassment


The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon continued its consideration of an initial report from Croatia, questioning a Government delegation, among other things, on discrimination on grounds of sex, race and age, violence against women, trafficking in persons, and on reported rampant sexual harassment.

Over the course of their consideration of the report, Committee Experts said, among other things, that according to the Croatian Autonomous Trade Union, the practice of discrimination on the grounds of sex, race and age was widespread; the Experts asked if a workplace was closed following findings by labour inspectors that it was too dangerous for employees; why unemployment was higher among national minorities; and why sexual harassment was a pervasive problem in Croatia.

Committee members also said there had been cases of murder, rape and sexual slavery in Croatia, and protection of women from domestic violence seemed to be neglected; the perpetrators of the violence against women were not brought before courts, particularly when it was found that they were Government officials. The Experts wanted to know, among other things, if children born out of wedlock had the same rights as the ones born within marriage; the situation of trafficking in women; if sexual orientation, such as homosexuality, was a problem within the society and on the level of the Government; and if rehabilitation programmes were provided to victims of sexual harassment or rape.

Responding to questions raised by Committee Experts, members of the Croatian delegation said, among other things, that five parliamentary seats were reserved for national minorities and those groups whose demographic representation was above 6 per cent of the total population would be represented in the legislative body. The results of the census carried out this year would be known in a few months time, and national minorities would be represented proportionally according to the resulting figures, they said.

The delegation said that the Government did not keep separate registration records for unemployed persons on ethnic grounds; and although Croatia had good legislative provisions prohibiting discrimination in employment, it was difficult to scrutinize each and every incident that was taking place.

As one of the 145 States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Croatia is obligated to present periodic reports to the Committee on how it was implementing the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 20 November, it will conclude its consideration of the initial report of Croatia.


Discussion

In response to questions raised by Committee Experts during the morning meeting, the Croatian delegation said that freedom of association was restricted if the aim was to overthrow the State by forceful means or if the aim included other acts threatening national security. At present, there were 202 trade unions, 33 associations of employees, 25 higher-level trade union associations and 2 higher-level associations of employees.

The money received from the World Bank had been invested in main infrastructures and in the preparation of reforms in the areas of health, settlement of returnees and pensions, the delegation said. Part of the loan was in the form of a grant. The fund had generated growth in the gross national production, which was higher than the previous year.

At a given moment after the war, Croatia had had 700,000 returnees and displaced persons, the delegation said. Approximately 200,000 persons had returned to their homes. However, there had been a problem in accommodating everybody, particularly concerning the repossession of original properties. The housing commissions established at the communal levels had been working on resolving the problems of ownership and returning properties to former owners. The return of Serbians to Croatia in August had prompted the construction of further houses. State houses or construction materials had been made available to some of the returnees who had lost their houses. Some returnees were not able to return to their State-owned houses because of the privatization measures, which had transferred ownership titles.

Five parliamentary seats were reserved for national minorities and those groups whose demographic representation was above 6 per cent of the total population would be represented in the legislative body, the delegation said. The results of the census carried out this year would be known in a few months time and national minorities would be represented proportionally according to the resulting figures.

Committee Experts said, among other things, that according to the Croatian Autonomous Trade Union, the practice of discrimination on the grounds of sex, race and age was widespread; they asked if a workplace was closed following findings by labour inspectors that it was too dangerous for employees; why unemployment was higher among national minorities; and why sexual harassment was a pervasive problem in Croatia.

Responding to the questions, the members of the Croatian delegation said that the Government did not separately register unemployed persons on ethnic grounds. In certain areas, the number of unemployed members of ethnic groups could be higher because of economic underdevelopment.

Although Croatia had good legislative provisions prohibiting discrimination in employment, it was difficult to scrutinize each and every incident that was taking place, the delegation said. The practice of age discrimination was not familiar to the society and it was non-existent in the public sector.

Asked why the number of peasants was decreasing, the delegation said that agricultural activities had increased due to land ownership. The statistics available to the Government showed that agricultural activities were on the rise.

Minimum wage was not indexed in terms of the evolution of inflation or rise in living standards, it should rather be negotiated between the trade unions and the employers, the delegation said. Workers in the public sector were better paid than the private sector, and trade unions were satisfied with such a situation because most of them represented public utilities.

There was no overt discrimination of national minorities in the public sector, the delegation said. In the areas where ethnic minorities dominated, public workers were retained from those minorities and were allowed to continue their work even during war time.

The issue of sexual harassment had not yet been regulated by law, the delegation said. However, the Government was preparing a national strategy to prevent violence against women. In addition, 25 November was set as a day for the celebration of "prevention of violence against women" and it was celebrated in the squares of Zagreb, the capital city.

Continuing to raise questions, Committee Experts said there had been cases of murder, rape and sexual slavery in the State party, and protection of women from domestic violence seemed to be given little importance; the perpetrators of the violence against women were not brought before courts, particularly when it was found that they were Government officials. The Experts wanted to know, among other things, if children born out of wedlock had the same rights as the ones born within marriage; about the situation of trafficking in women; if sexual orientation, such as homosexuality, was a problem within the society and on the level of the Government; if rehabilitation programmes were provided to victims of sexual harassment or rape; the situation of homelessness; and about the problem of squatting.

Responding to questions raised by Committee Experts, the members of the Croatian delegation said that an act of rape by a husband was considered as a criminal act and could be penalized if the victim pressed charges.

There was no law on the issue of homosexuality and in the new criminal code it was no more considered as a criminal offence, the delegation said.

Although there was a legal provision on trafficking in persons, its implementation had been a problem because of lack of training on the issue by some prosecutors, the delegation said. The Government was, however, taking the issue seriously and it would endeavour to implement the law.

Sexual harassment was not penalized because of the lack of legislative provisions in the country's legal system, the delegation said.

An Expert said that cardio-vascular disease was responsible for 50 per cent of deaths in Croatia, while 20 per cent of deaths were attributed to cancer. The sources for such deaths were alcoholism and tobacco smoking. What measures were taken to avert such trends? Did the Government consider the revenue obtained from alcoholic beverages and tobacco significant?

Other Experts also asked about the reinstatement of Serbs and the housing situation; forced evictions; socialization of medicine; and education on a healthy diet and environment.

The delegation said that at least 10,000 houses were being used by temporary occupants and eviction had not been exercised. Another 20,000 houses belonging to Serbs had to be repaired before they were returned to the owners. It was expected that, under the stability pact, the international community would help Croatia to strengthen its housing efforts. During the war, 200,000 houses had been demolished, which had added to the actual housing problem.

Cancer in Croatia was a real health problem, the delegation said, adding that in 1999, 11,540 persons had died of cancer. Breast cancer was also rapidly spreading among the female population. The Government was envisaging to restrict alcoholic drinks as it had done for cigarette smoking.




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