On the occasion of Human Rights Day and the 75th anniversary of the European Convention, Ombudsperson Tena Šimonović Einwalter warned on Wednesday about the growth of complaints in healthcare and freedom of expression, as well as the increase in hate speech.
Minister of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation Damir Habijan said that the judiciary is "recording progress", but that everyone in the chain bears responsibility.
Ombudsperson: There are standards that must be maintained
During the celebration of Human Rights Day at the Faculty of Political Science, Šimonović Einwalter said that the European Convention on Human Rights is an "extremely important" standard and document for Croatia and part of the internal legal order. She emphasized the importance of the broader European context of rights protection and said that "there are standards that must be maintained."
She pointed out that in Croatia, according to citizens' complaints, the most petitions in the past year related to the area of healthcare and the right to health.
"Minority groups are particularly at risk, but there are also topics that affect all citizens. These are healthcare, housing, social care and poverty, and the rights of the elderly," she said.
This year, he says, the focus is particularly on civil and political rights, the limits of freedom of expression, hate speech and the impact of disinformation.
Commenting on the increase in violence among young people, she assessed that responsibility does not lie with just one actor and that the greatest responsibility lies with government institutions. She particularly warned against hate messages towards migrants, LGBTIQ people, Roma and Serbs, adding that such speech incites tension and spills over into violence.
Speaking about the initiative to ban praying in squares, the so-called 'kneeling', after more than 50 thousand signatures were collected, she pointed out that this topic includes gender equality, freedom of public assembly and freedom of religion.
"The petition shows that we need to seriously discuss this and legally analyze it," said Šimonović Einwalter, adding that examples of trampling on roses placed in honor of femicide victims and glorification of such actions are unacceptable and should be clearly condemned.
Habijan: Number of unresolved cases has decreased; sentence for femicide - up to 40 years, but prevention is important
Justice Minister Damir Habijan emphasized that statistics show some progress in the duration of court proceedings.
"A year and a half ago, the average length of litigation was around 655 days, today we are at around 455, while in criminal proceedings the average is 118 days. The number of unresolved cases has been reduced from almost a million to around 402 thousand, with the goal of lowering it below 350 thousand," he said. "Are we completely satisfied? We are not. Could it be better? It can. But not everything is so bleak," he added.
Speaking about femicide, he recalled that last year the criminal offense of aggravated murder of a woman was introduced with a sentence of up to 40 years in prison. "The maximum sentence for femicide is equal to the maximum sentence for genocide or war crimes. So, there is not much room for additional tightening," said Habijan, emphasizing the importance of cooperation between all systems and prevention.
He also pointed out that the possibility of a special appeal by the victim against the decision to release the perpetrator has been introduced, as well as the automatic replacement of the precautionary measure with pretrial detention in the event of a violation.
On the petition and the issue of banning the petitioner, he stressed that it is necessary to strike a balance between freedom of religion and the protection of other citizens.
The chairman of the parliamentary Committee for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities, Milorad Pupovac, warned that Europe and Croatia are not moving away from the Convention only because of time, but also because of the attitude towards its provisions.
"Fundamental human, civil rights and freedoms are being called into question in various ways, both in our country and in the world," he said, and called for strengthening advocacy of the standards guaranteed by the Convention, "thanks to which Europe has had stable and democratic societies in which rights were respected for decades."
Photo: HINA/Lana Slivar Dominić
