The overall human rights situation in Croatia has continued improving gradually in 2004, according to the Annual Report of the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights. The report was presented today in the Centre for Human Rights in Zagreb by Zarko Puhovski, the Chairman of the Committee and Srdjan Dvornik, the Executive Director of the CHC. (20-JUN-05)

 

-The mentioned improvement is substantially expressed through three levels: as further reduction of most serious human rights violation, as further reduction of human rights violations with the consent of public, political parties and even state institutions and as an increase of public sensibility towards all kinds of human rights violations.-repeated ?arko Puhovski his introductory words from the report on today?s conference for the press.

 

All conclusions in the report are drawn based on civic complaints that address the CHC with various requests and numerous projects the CHC is implementing. During the 2004, the CHC received 1719 requests for help from altogether 4813 citizens whose various human rights have been denied. While the report recognized a significant decrease of ethnically or racist based human rights violations it also stressed the increase of human rights violations related to property-legal problems.

 

-Having in mind the fact that Croatia is still going through transition period, these tendencies are expected. -said Zarko Puhovski

  

However, in spite of the more positive climate for the further improvement of human rights in Croatia , the report highlighted numerous problems related to this issue. Apart from property-legal problems related to the return of the property, reconstruction of houses, illegal construction and other, the majority of the citizens that addressed the CHC requested help in human rights issues related to housing and tenancy rights. Furthermore, the CHC received a substantial number of complaints related to the work of judiciary and court inefficiency.

 

During the presentation and press conference it was pointed out that, unfortunately, in spite the positive development of the human rights situation in Croatia in 2004, the recent events in 2005. (not covered by the report), indicate the deterioration of the human rights situation in Croatia. The most recent aggravation of the human rights situation in Croatia in the past six months is best visible through the impaired relations towards Serbian minority in Croatia, and through some irregularities occurring in the post – election processes of forming government.