As Croatia is due to join the European Union (EU) on 1 July in becoming its 28th member, its accession is seen by non-governmental organisations as an opportunity for the government to show its commitment to safeguard human rights and to “properly address outstanding abuses in the country.”
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has sent a letter to Prime Minister Zoran Milanović stressing, among others, minority rights in the country.
Based on the results of a visit the NGO carried out in Croatia in June, it said that the Roma minority in the country continue to face discrimination. “The Roma minority face difficulties in accessing the most basic state services,” says the NGO.
According to data of the UNHCR, there are approximately 500 stateless Roma in Croatia and another 1,000 Roma at risk of statelessness. “Stateless Roma have difficulties providing the necessary documents to register as Croatian citizens, which also prevents them from accessing state services such as health care, social assistance, or education,” continues the HRW letter.
In addition, the human rights group expresses concern also about the Serb minority in Croatia which, according to HRW, “continues to face obstacles in relation to the right to housing.” “In particular, Serbs who were stripped of tenancy rights during the war face on-going difficulties benefitting from the 2010 government program that permits the purchase of property at below market rates because of the cost of making an application and cumbersome administrative procedures,” continues the letter.
“Zagreb should see the accession as an incentive to further improve rights protection, rather than a signal to slow down,” says the NGO because “it’s clear Croatia still has much more work to do to bring its human rights protection up to par with EU standards”.
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