HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONCLUDES DISCUSSION OF CROATIA’S INITIAL REPORT; STRATEGY TO FIGHT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AMONG ISSUES ADDRESSED

Human Rights Committee
Seventy-first Session
29 March 2001
1914th and 1915th Meetings (AM & PM)





Committee Praises Breadth of Report, Preparation by Delegation;
Raises Concerns on Public Awareness of Covenant, Judicial Backlog


There was a growing awareness in Croatia of the need to address the problem of violence against women, the Human Rights Committee was told today, as it concluded its consideration of the initial report of Croatia on compliance with the 1976 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

A representative of Croatia’s delegation, responding to a question posed in writing by the Committee, said the Government was preparing a national strategy to fight such violence. The strategy would be devised in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, as well as other interested parties.

The Committee, made up of 18 experts acting in their individual capacity, is the monitoring body for the Covenant. States parties to the Covenant -– now 148 -- agree to make periodic reports on their compliance.

Members of Croatia’s delegation, in two meetings today, responded to oral and written questions posed by Committee members on such subjects as freedom of information, the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of association, nationality, ethnic minorities and the status of women.

Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati of India, Committee Chairman, in a closing statement, called Croatia’s report a well-researched document with a wealth of information about the situation of Croatia and how it had evolved. It had been gratifying to find that the delegation had made intense preparations for meeting the questions put to it by members of the Committee, he said.

The Committee was pleased that there had been free and fair elections in 2000 in Croatia, which had brought a Parliamentary form of Government and constitutional changes, he continued. Croatia today was in a democratic environment and was progressing steadily towards increased guarantees of human rights and freedoms. On behalf of the Committee, however, he also expressed a number of concerns relating to, among others, public awareness of the Covenant, the backlog of cases afflicting the judicial system, and derogations from the human rights provisions of the Constitution in times of State emergency.

Lidija Lukina Karajkovic, Assistant Minister of Justice, Administration and Local Self-Government of Croatia, made a closing statement on behalf of her delegation. She assured the Committee that the relevant authorities would give its recommendations the highest consideration.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Friday, 30 March, to take up the initial report of Syria.

Background

The Human Rights Committee, 18 expert members serving in their individual capacity, met this morning to continue its dialogue with the delegation from Croatia concerning that country’s initial report on its compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (document CCPR/C/HRV/99/1). The Croatian report was introduced at yesterday’s morning meeting and consideration continued at the afternoon session.

(For more information and summary of the report see Press Release HR/CT/602 of 28 March, for background on the session see Press Release HR/CT/590 issued 19 March.)

Response to Experts’ Questions

Responding to questions posed by Committee members yesterday, LIDIJA LUKINA KARAJKOVIC, Assistant Minister of Justice, Administration and Local Self-Government of Croatia, said the Amnesty Law granted no amnesty for war crimes and had been implemented on some 20,000 people, but procedures were still ongoing. Croatian non-governmental organizations had noticed some irregulaties in cases of war crimes. Those problems stemmed from the fact that judicial bodies had to decide whether a particular murder was a war crime.

The backlog problem in criminal cases was not as bad as in civil cases, she said. The Government had proposed such measures as: changes in the Civil and the Criminal Procedure Act; more training for judges with little experience; better working conditions for judges; strengthening the responsibilities of the court presidents; and disciplinary measures for judges.

Regarding cooperation with The Hague Tribunal, she said prosecutors of The Hague were now in Zagreb. She stressed that in Croatia trials were pending for war crimes. There were still a lot of unsolved war-crime cases, but she was confident those could be solved in Croatian courts. There was no statute of limitation on war crimes.

There was a problematic issue in the law regulating lawyers, she said, namely the condition that a lawyer needed to be a Croatian citizen in order to be registered. A change will be implemented. Free legal services for defendants in criminal cases were regulated by law. In criminal cases, defendants had the right to counsel regardless of their economic situation.

There were some general regulations regarding religious freedom, but there was no law yet to regulate that matter. A draft proposal had been prepared on the legal status of religious communities, which would address such matters as the registration of religious communities and religious education.

DARNIR KUKAVICA, Ministry of the Interior of Croatia, said there had indeed been incidents between Croatians and Serbs and others. One example of that was the death of a Serb after a demonstration. Court procedures were in process against the accused, he said, and the situation in the area was stabilized. Another case concerned a person on whom force was used by two police officers to extract information, leading to the person’s death. Criminal procedures had been instigated against the two police officers.

MARTIN MRCELA, Judge, Zagreb County Court, said that if there was suspicion that a delay in a trial was caused by the court, the matter should be brought to the attention of the court’s president. It was not an acceptable situation. Some offences could would not fall under the statute of limitations, such as genocide and war crimes.

Regarding juvenile prison sentences, he said the report had not been correct. A 14 year-old person could not go to prison. The report was also incorrect in paragraph 189, where it stated that the Law on Criminal Procedure regulated arrest as a police measure. Arrest could not be a police measure, he said. The police could issue a “wanted notice”, but that was not an arrest.

Follow-up Questions

An expert said that the answers given had only confirmed her opinion of the serious nature of the report. The answers had eliminated some of the ambiguity on various questions. She still had some concern about how certain principles had been split up in the Constitution. Certain articles of the Covenant were covered in the Constitution and others in domestic legislation, she noted. Some aspects of the Constitution were not as strict as the Covenant. She then congratulated the delegation on its answers on the question of detention.

Another expert said he had not heard a reply to his question on the impact of State succession on nationality. What would be the status of someone born in Croatia of Serbian or Muslim ethnicity who had been displaced during the war and now wished to return?

PRAFULLACHANDRA NATWARLAL BHAGWATI of India, Committee Chairman, asked how many persons were in pre-trial detention in Croatia.

Another expert thanked the delegation for the specific responses given yesterday on pre-trial detention. He asked about the detention of detainees on court premises; under whose jurisdiction were those premises? He also sought further clarification on instances of detention, under certain circumstances, on police premises. Once people were sent on remand for investigative detention, in what premises were they held and under whose authority?

He hadn’t heard a response to his question on statistics provided on various criminal acts, he noted. Why was there a lesser maximum penalty for torture than for incidents of bodily assault? Had there been any incidents of prisoners volunteering for medical experimentation?

An expert said question 3 had been misunderstood by the delegation –- it related to the mechanisms in place to implement the views of the Committee on the Covenant’s first Optional Protocol. He asked for further clarification on what Croatia did in such cases. Articles 2 and 3 of the Covenant required constitutional processes to be observed. That did not mean that the substance of the rights might not be put in the law. He stressed that it was best that all the human rights expressed in the Covenant be included in the Constitution.

Another expert remarked that he had not received full information to what was happening in practice. A question had not been fully answered on the prosecution of people allegedly involved in war crimes prior to the establishment of the courts.

Response to Experts' Questions

JOSKO KLISOVIC, a member of Croatia’s United Nations Mission, said that persons born in Croatia could succeed to Croatian nationality. Before the former Yugoslavia’s dissolution, people had federal citizenship and at the same time citizenship of its federal unit. Persons born in Croatia were able to acquire Croatian citizenship, he said.

Mr. MRCELA, Zagred County Court, answering questions about detention, said detention was executed in prison, as designated by the Ministry of Justice. Guards were not police, but employees of the Ministry of Justice. Supervision over the execution of detention should be carried out by the president of the court. In exceptional cases, when the offence involved could be punished with more than five years in prison, the investigative judge might order confinement at the police station, but supervision of the confinement was in the jurisdiction of the court. In his experience, judges were reluctant to implement those exceptions, he said. The Ministry of Justice would be able to provide statistics asked for by experts.

Regarding questions about torture, he said he was not aware of any pending case of torture. When aggravated bodily injury resulted in death, there was possible imprisonment of up to 10 years. Torture was punishable with eight years. A person charged with torture could be punished for both torture and for aggravated bodily injury. Participation of prisoners in medical experiments was not a practice in Croatia, he said.

BRANKO SMERDEL, Zagreb Law Faculty, said in his answer to a question on the views of the Committee, he had confused views with recommendations. He said, regarding the hierarchy of laws, that international treaties were above the law, but that judges needed training, so they would be aware of that fact.

Ms. KARAJKOVIC, Assistant Minister of Justice, Administration and Local Self-Government of Croatia, said that she would check if the law on Croatian citizenship was available in English. She was sorry that an expert had not been satisfied with the answer given on war crimes. The delegation did not have the relevant statistical information with them. She noted the case now pending against a Croatian General in a Croatian court -– that demonstrated Croatia’s commitment to prosecute crimes. She hoped it would encourage other courts in Croatia to prosecute such cases.

Responding again to written questions, Ms. KARAJKOVIC then said the Public Information Act regulated prerequisites for the realization of the principle of freedom of the press and other mass media. It also provided for the right of journalists and other actors involved in public information to freedom of reporting and access to information. Freedom of public information comprised, among other things, freedom of expression, freedom of collection, examination, publication and dissemination of information, he noted.

Article 4 of the Act stipulated that no one had the right to influence, either by force or abuse of office, the contents and flow of public information, she said. Article 6 of the Act specified that everyone had the right to protection of privacy, dignity, reputation and honour. Another Article of the act stipulated that an authorized person in a public administration body is obliged to provide to journalists the information falling within the competence of that body.

Turning to another question, on freedom of assembly, Mr. SMERDEL, Zagres Law Faculty said that under the new law there were no problems with public assemblies or even political meetings or demonstrations, which were usually peaceful. Problems related to events like football matches, cultural events and concerts. The new law on the subject had divided the two categories. He said there was an effort underway to disseminate an understanding of the right to assembly under the new law. It had to be stressed that people currently in opposition had the same rights to assembly as those who had formerly been the opposition and who were now in power.

Freedom of association was guaranteed by the Constitution, Ms. KARAJKOVIC said. Citizens were guaranteed the right to freedom of association for the purposes of protection of their interests or promotion of their social, economic, political, national cultural and other convictions and objectives. For that purpose, citizens could freely form trade unions and other associations, join them or leave them.

The exercise of the right to freedom of association could only be restricted by the prohibition of any violent threat to the democratic constitutional order and independence, unity and territorial integrity of Croatia, she said. The joining of citizens into associations covering a wide variety of citizens’ interests was regulated by the Association Act, she noted. That Act regulated free association in a new and more modern way, which facilitated the exercise of the constitutional right to free association. Some solutions in the Act had been taken from the regulations of Western European countries governing free association. One of the novel features of the Act was the provision that founders of associations might be foreign citizens.

The Act had precisely specified the procedures for temporary prohibition of an association’s activities, if there was a reasonable suspicion that the association operated contrary to the Constitution or law. The Constitutional Court had repealed some provisions of the Association Act which, in the Court’s opinion, constituted a restricting factor with regard to the establishment, operations and termination of associations. She pointed out that there were some 20,000 associations operating in Croatia and that their number was constantly growing.

Mr. MRCELA, Judge, Zagreb County Court, said the Constitution, in article 36, guaranteed freedom and privacy of correspondence and all other forms of communication. Restrictions necessary for the protection of State security and the conduct of criminal proceedings were regulated by the Internal Affairs Act and the Law on Criminal Procedure. The Service for the Protection of the Constitutional Order could order certain restrictions, but those were only allowed if the information could not be collected in any other way and concerned activities directed against the sovereignty of the Republic, the planning and committing of criminal offences against the Republic, criminal offences against the values established by international law and in matters of organized crime. The Law also provided for the maximum duration of the prescribed measures.

The Commission for Monitoring the Application of Measures of Secret Collection of Information, appointed by the House of Representatives, must receive notice within 24 hours from the commencement of the ordered measures. The Law on Criminal Procedure prescribed that an investigating judge might order measures of surveillance and technical recording, if investigation of criminal offences could not be conducted in another way, in cases of, for instance, offences against the constitutional order punishable with more than five years imprisonment, and offences such as murder, money laundering, accepting a bribe, kidnapping and in some cases of organized crime.

DUBRAVKA SIMONIVIC, member of Croatia’s Mission to the United Nations, said her country had ratified the Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. She highlighted recent modifications of the Constitution, where gender equality was proclaimed to be of the highest value among the Constitutional order. After the parliamentary elections of January, significant progress had been made. Female representatives in Parliament rose from 7.9 to 21.5 per cent. That had acted as a catalyst for several events. Out of 19 ministers, two were women and out of the total number of ministry secretaries, more than 35 per cent were women. Women were still underrepresented on the regional and the local level. Equal pay for equal work was an accepted principle.

The Constitutional Court had two female judges, she said. Women were still underrepresented in professorates. In the economic sector, there was still discrimination against women. Women constituted 46 per cent of the workforce. They were even less represented in enterpreneurship. Ownership by women of companies was difficult to estimate, as ownership registration did not identify gender. The share of women in unemployment was 52.5 per cent.

The new national policy envisages that credit programmes for the development of small businesses will be elaborated in several different credit lines. After the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) the Parliamentary Committee on Issues of Gender Equality had been established. The national policy on gender issues had been drafted in close cooperation with non-governmental organizations.

The Government would undertake programmes for the purpose of increasing the number of women in committees, boards and delegations within government administration. From 2002 it was going to gradually increase the appropriate representation of women in all its bodies.

There was a growing awareness in Croatia of the existence of violence against women, especially domestic violence, as well as the need for its eradication, she said. Prevention of violence started with adequate education for all and from the earliest age, concerning relations and ways of communication between the sexes. The Government was preparing a national strategy for fighting violence against women.

The strategy would be devised in cooperation between the Government and non-governmental organizations, as well as other interested parties. It would be based on estimates of the situation in the field. The commission for gender equality would continue to cooperate with the non-governmental organizations that worked on suppressing violence against women. That cooperation had thus far been extremely successful. The Government considered it necessary to implement continual education of every person in law enforcement, providing services and support in cases of violence against women.

At the end of 1999, Ms. KARAJKOVIC, Assistant Minister of Justice, Administration and Local Self-Government, Croatia, said a new act on the election of representatives in the Croatian National Parliament had been enacted, which had changed the mode of electing representatives from the ranks of national minorities, such that a total of five representatives from the ranks of national minorities were elected in a special constituency which included the whole territory of Croatia.

Articles 16, 17, 18 and 19 were the relevant provisions of the act, she said. The drafting of the constitutional act on the rights of national minorities was about to be finished, she noted. The drafting was being undertaken in close cooperation with the relevant bodies of the Council of Europe.

The Constitution stipulated the prohibition of discrimination, equality before the law for everybody, as well as equality in performing public services, she said. The draft Constitutional act on the rights of national minorities guaranteed to national minorities the right to proportional representation in representative and executive bodies of local and regional units. In addition, mechanisms were being proposed to ensure the participation of representatives of national minorities in making decisions about all issues concerning their status and the protection of their interests.

She noted that in 2000 the Act on the Use of Minority Languages had been enacted. According to that document, it was guaranteed that members of national minorities were allowed to use their mother tongue before bodies of central, as well as local and regional authorities, which greatly facilitated the realization of their rights.

BRANKO SOCANAC, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Croatia said that after the January 2000 elections, the general atmosphere in the relations between the Government and a large number of non-governmental organizations had changed. Government work in the area of human rights was much more transparent than before. There was a Government Office for Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations, he noted. It furnished proposals for the financing of their programmes.

The Department of Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cooperated with non-governmental organizations at seminars and round tables, he said. The Commission for Human Rights composed of representatives of different ministries, had been functioning for six months.

Ms. KARAJKOVIC said the Ministry of Justice had established a Centre for professional training of judges and other law enforcement officials at the end of 1999. The Centre had started with its work at the beginning of 2000. Its goal was continuous and systematic professional training of judges and officials employed in the administration of justice. The training was carried out via different forms of educational activities, with the purpose of making officials familiar with new domestic legislation, as well as with European and international law related to new technologies used in the management of judicial tasks.

The programme for the training of judges and the administration of justice staff had been adopted in 2000, she said. Four seminars had been held within that programme, in which 438 judges, State’s attorneys and other judicial officials had participated.

Mr. SOCANAC said that in addition to the representatives from the judiciary, other representatives from ministries participated in a workshop on the obligations of reporting connected with the Covenant. In the context of a broader action for dissemination of the Covenant, he noted the significance of the National Programme on Human Rights, which would soon be implemented in the education system, from pre-schools to secondary schools. The drafting of the national programme on human rights for students and for the education of adults was pending.

Experts’ Questions

An expert asked whether the change in the Constitution of the word “citizen” into “everyone” could be extended to cover all Constitutional rights. Regarding provisions covering national minorities, he wondered if a situation was created where some were more equal than others. Did the reference to national majorities in the Constitution mean that the rights of other groups were affected? Some of the biggest ethnic affiliations, such as Muslims and Romas, were not listed as national minorities. Were the rights of person belonging to those groups affected by the fact that they were not treated as a national minority? he asked.

He said that the report described religious education in Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Muslim religions. Was a family entitled to choose a religion irrespective of the community it lived in? Were those who did not belong to the mentioned religions exempt from religious education? What was meant by “atheistic education"? Perhaps it meant “secular"? The report mentioned that conscientious objectors to military service could serve in unarmed departments of the military. Was civilian service outside the military included?

Regarding discrimination against women, he asked whether article 106 of the Criminal Code contained general discrimination clauses related to human rights. Also, could a private person be guilty of violations of human rights? What other legal remedies existed for discrimination in the private sector? Was sexual harassment defined as gender discrimination? What about gender-specific hiring practices, such as exacting promises that a person would not become pregnant?

An expert thanked the delegation for the detailed report and answers. However, there had been a heavy emphasis on laws and decrees and less on practical progress and weaknesses in that progress. He suggested that the delegation provide their statements in writing, when possible, so that the Committee could study them more carefully.

The Committee needed to know much more about the position of women in the workforce and their level of pay, he said. What was being done to address inequities and who was monitoring the situation? he asked. A real picture of the factual situation of women was needed. What action was being taken and was it being rigorously monitored with clear goals in mind?

He had been glad to hear about the various draft acts being elaborated on minority issues. Who would monitor their implementation? he asked. Would the Ombudsman have a role? More information on achievements and weakness in practice was needed. He also sought further information on the issue of the Roma and wondered why they were not yet listed among the country’s national minorities. He also wanted more information on the situation of Roma children.

Another expert asked whether in article 42 of the Constitution, which mentioned guarantees of the right to public assembly to citizens, could be broadened to all people living in Croatia. Regarding notification, he asked what happened if the notice of a prohibition of the assembly came very shortly before the assembly was scheduled to take place. Were there remedies, and could a court appeal lead to suspension of the prohibition?

Substantial progress had been made regarding freedom of expression, he said. He asked for clarification of the new article 200 of the Criminal Code regarding defamation. Was that article replacing all other articles in the Criminal Code on that matter? The Constitutional Code had struck down a regulation on protection of the reputation of the head of State. There had been many convictions on the basis of that regulation. What had happened to the people who had been convicted on the basis of the provision that had been struck down? Were they released? Could they claim compensation?

An expert asked if there was a law that prohibited general discrimination in the private sector. She said the issue of domestic violence had not been addressed in the report, only violence against women, and asked if the Government had an emergency plan in that regard or a national strategy on domestic violence.

From the report and answers given, an expert said he was convinced that Croatia was doing its utmost to fight discrimination against women. What was the situation in practice with respect to that issue? he asked. He had been seriously concerned when he had heard the answer given on representation of minorities in Parliament -- as a consequence of the recent reform, representation of the Serb minority had fallen. He asked for further information on the point.

Another expert asked what was the content of the notion of “moral reasons”, as opposed to “religious reasons”, within the concept of conscientious objection. What was the situation for someone who developed a conscientious objection when he was already within the military?

An expert said he had welcomed the indications regarding relations with non-governmental organizations in Croatia. He asked if the Government cooperated with international non-governmental organizations –- read their reports, corrected them if necessary and accepted their assistance. He then asked about the responsibility of States for their neighbours and other signatories under the Covenant.

Response by Delegation

Mr. SMERDEL, Zagreb Law Faculty, said the question about article 14 of the Constitution was a good example of the controversy that could result from transcribing international provisions in the Constitution. He referred to the term “or other characteristics”. People in every country had different rights depending on “some other characteristics”, he said, such as age limitations on political rights. Using the term “everyone” had to be done carefully.

Regarding protections for minorities, he said Croatia had been created by the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia. In that Federation all ethnic groups had been declared equal and named nations and nationalities. That should have been taken into account in drafting the Constitution on the eve of the war for independence. Article 1 of the Constitution stated that power was “derived from the people as a community of free and equal citizens”. The problem was the preamble to the Constitution and if it had normative character. In 1997 Yugoslav “nations and nationalities” had been included in the Constitution as national minorities. The enumeration in the Constitution of national minorities was followed by the words “and the others”. If the Constitution was taken as a whole, one could see basic values that underlined the basic human rights instruments.

Ms. SIMONOVIC, of the Croatian Mission to the United Nations, said her Government had provided reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and to the General Assembly last year, which gave specific answers on how the Women’s Convention in Beijing were being implemented. She stressed that statistical data was important. This year, the Commission on Gender Equality had published some statistical data.

The percentage of women in the work force was 45 per cent, she said. In the public sector, equal work was equally paid and non-equal pay would be considered as discrimination. There was, however, no statistical data about the private sector. The Government should establish mechanisms to deal with that kind of discrimination.

Domestic violence was an important issue that had not been publicly discussed until a short time ago. But many strong non-governmental organizations were helping victims of domestic violence. A specific governmental policy would be provided dealing with women who had been victims of domestic violence. Women’s shelters had also been established and the Government had provided funds for non-governmental organizations in the field. There was a special office in Government for cooperation with non-governmental organizations. Women non-governmental organizations were closest to the victims of violence, and it was up to the Government to provide a legal framework and funds.

Sexual harassment was not currently in the law as a specific violation of women’s rights, she said, but the Government supported the abolishment of such practices and was working to raise awareness of the issue. States were responsible for human rights, she said. Croatia subscribed to all the United Nations instruments, which were in many cases part of national law.

Mr. MRCELA, Judge, Zagreb, clarified that some forms of sexual harassment could be prosecuted as a criminal acts. Private persons could be seen as perpetrators of human rights. There had been a provision in the Criminal Code that in certain cases insults could be seen as a violation of someone’s reputation. That had come up with regard to the media. He outlined the modalities for prosecution of such cases.

Mr. MRCELA, Judge, Zagreb County Court, briefly addressed the question of freedom of expression, and gave examples of cases involving insult, defamation and slander, in which journalists had been acquitted. According to one of those decisions, journalists had the right to express their thoughts, positions and opinions in the form of criticism, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Constitution. As far as he knew, no person had ended up in prison as a result of accusations of defamation or insult of public officials.

He said that the topic of judicial education was very sensitive. The situation in that regard was far from desirable. The proposed judicial education centre was very welcome. He hoped it would have an impact on the everyday life of judges. He hoped that there would one day be a State judicial college.

Ms. KARAJKOVIC said the English text of the draft constitutional legislation on minority rights would be provided. The experts could then see that the definition of national minorities would be taken care of, including religious and other cultural rights of the minorities. Regarding a civil alternative for military service, she said that a person could object for religious and moral reasons and could ask for civil service, done in public institutions, such as hospitals and courts.

Additional Expert Questions

An expert asked if moral grounds included political and ideological grounds or objection to a particular war. What happened to persons already in the military raising conscientious objections?

Another expert asked whether or not there was a general law prohibiting discrimination in the private sector. One expert reminded the delegation of a question about freedom of peaceful assembly. Yet another expert asked about the reduction of representation of Serbs in the parliament from three to one.

Ms. KARAJKOVIC responded that conscientious objections to military service on moral grounds could indeed be on political, ideological and other grounds. There was no law that prohibited discrimination in the private sector.

Mr. SMERDEL, Zagreb Law Faculty, added there was no specific legislation prohibiting discrimination on gender in the private sector, but any discrimination on the basis of gender was prohibited in the public sector.

Regarding the right to public assembly, he said legal aliens had the same rights to notify and organize public assemblies. In many cases, there was not enough time for an appeal. If there was a prohibition revoked by the court, compensation should be provided and the meeting could be held at another time. The administrative court did have the right to put an injunction on such a prohibition. Regarding a question about conscientious objectors already in the military, he said that today, the right of conscientious objectors was permanent.

He added that according to the Act on Human Rights and the Act on National Minorities of 1991, national minorities constituting over 8 per cent of the total population should be represented proportionally in the Parliament and judicial and governmental bodies. Other national minorities also had to be represented. Special statute districts had been envisioned in areas with a Serb majority. He did not know what the proportion of Serbs was of the total population, since the last census was held in 1991 and a new census was being prepared for the end of this year.

After the fighting in 1995, a number of Serbs, estimated at 200,000, had decided to leave the country. In 1996 the electoral law was changed and the Serb representation was reduced, because the Serb percentage of the population had been reduced. He noted that Croatia had changed the electoral law for each election.

Closing Statements

Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati of India, Committee Chairman, called the report a well-researched document with a wealth of information about the situation of Croatia and how it had evolved. It was a nascent republic trying to find its feet after an acrimonious armed conflict. It was refreshing to find that Croatia was facing up to its challenges.

There had been a full and frank dialogue, he said. He assured the delegation that the Committee had asked its questions in a constructive spirit to help the State party ensure its human rights situation. It had been most gratifying to find that the delegation had made intense preparations for meeting the questions put by the members of the Committee.

The Committee was glad to find that there had been free and fair elections in 2000 in Croatia, which had brought a Parliamentary form of Government and constitutional changes. Croatia today was in a democratic environment and was progressing steadily towards increased guarantees of human rights and freedoms. It was a matter of satisfaction that the Covenant had primacy over domestic law. There did not, however, appear to be a single case where the rights set out in the Covenant had been directly enforced by the courts.

It was necessary to raise public awareness about the Optional Protocol, he said. He doubted very much that the rights set out in the Covenant were known by the population or even State officials. An educational campaign should be mounted to redress that problem. He was not sure what would happen if there was a conflict between the provisions of the Covenant and the Constitution.

The Committee was happy to note that the Constitutional Court was engaged in cases involving enforcement of human rights. He had been happy to learn that the Court had refused to apply the legal provision that criminalized the criticism that reflected on five highly placed State functionaries. The Committee had also been glad to learn that under the amended criminal code, as soon as person was arrested he was entitled to legal counsel.

The backlog of cases afflicting the judicial system was a great concern, as was the high percentage of inexperienced judges, he said. He had been glad to learn that a training institute was being set up, but there should be a national academy for educating judges on human rights. Aspects of the Amnesty Law and the law on the legal status of religious communities were also cause for concern.

Concern had also been expressed with regard to article 17 of the Constitution on derogation from the human rights provisions of the Constitution in times of emergency, he said. He hoped the concerns would be taken care of by suitable legislation before the next report was filed. He stressed the need for the delegation to provide more information on the situation on the ground.

In closing remarks, Ms. Karajkovic, Assistant Minister of Justice, Administration and Local Self-Government, said participating in the consideration of the report had been an invaluable exercise for Croatia. She expressed her appreciation to the Committee for the constructive dialogue and exchange. Croatia had taken careful note of the Committee’s comments and recommendations. She assured the Committee that the relevant authorities would give the recommendations the highest consideration.





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