Croatia

Victim Assistance

Last updated: 18 July 2018

Summary action points based on findings

  • Complete the national survivor survey.
  • Maintain regular national coordination of victim assistance and complete the unified victim database in order to improve implementation of services according to needs.
  • Ensure that survivors’ representative organizations have adequate resources to be representative in all relevant fora and carry out victim assistance activities that fill gaps in government services, including peer support outreach and targeted psychological assistance.

Victim assistance commitments

The Republic of Croatia is responsible for a significant number of landmine survivors, cluster munition victims, and survivors of other explosive remnants of war (ERW). Croatia has made commitments to provide victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) Protocol V and has victim assistance obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Croatia ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 15 August 2007.

Victim Assistance

As of the end of 2015, there were at least 1,437 mine/ERW survivors in Croatia.

Victim assistance since 2015

By the end of 2014, NGOs had to reduce the quantity of services from levels that had already been reduced since 2011, due to financial and capacity constraints. There was an increase in activities at a new psychological assistance center, but overall there was no improvement in the psychological support network provided through the health system.

In 2014, the “Regulation on keeping the data of mine and UXO [unexploded ordinance] victims and their family members” entered into force.

In 2015, Croatia stated that NGOs involved in victim assistance had reported that “due to the omnipresent lack of financial resources there had been a decrease overall in the number of people that they could assist. Some NGOs however were able to implement projects, including psychological support for adults and children and visits by social workers providing assistance and referrals.”[1] Croatia continued to report that although the rights of victims and persons with disabilities are regulated by numerous laws and regulations, the “on the ground reality does not always follow laws and regulations.”[2]

The Model of Active Rehabilitation and Education (MARE) Center (previously known as the Duga Center), a specialized facility for psychological support and social reintegrationestablished in 2012, addressed the needs of survivors and other people with trauma.

MineAid continued to provide assistance andaddress the lack of appropriate services identified by mine/ERW survivors in past years. It provided psychological support groups for adults and children, and visits by social workers to implement tailored, individual plans for improving health, education, or social inclusion. It later adapted its projects and targeted indirect victims as beneficiaries, including vulnerable and unemployed people (including women) living in mine/ERW-affected areas.

Assessing victim assistance needs

The Croatian Mine Action Center (CROMAC) continued to provide advisory support to mine victims and their families and collected data on mine victims and their needs during mine action non-technical survey.CROMAC continued to collect data on mine/ERW victims and their needs during the process of non-technical survey in continuation of the needs assessment survey of 2014. The project was conducted by the Government Office for Mine Action and CROMAC with a goal of establishing a unified Mine Victims Database.[3] No significant progress on the database was reported in 2016, although field research was scheduled to start as soon as the funds were available.[4]

A working group for the preparation of a registry of civil war victims with the Ministry of Veterans began meeting in September 2015. The working group included Documenta representative Slaven Rašković.[5]

Victim assistance coordination[6]

Government coordinating body/focal point

Government Office for Mine Action (to which CROMAC designates its legal role to coordinate victim assistance, which is included in the Law on Humanitarian Demining)

Coordinating mechanism

National Coordinating Body for Helping Mine and UXO Victims

Plan

Croatian Action Plan to Help Victims Of Mines and Unexploded Ordnance 2010–2014

 

The Government Office for Mine Action has had the role of co-coordinating the multi-sectoral group of government and NGO representatives, institutions, and individuals in the National Coordinating Body for Helping Mine and UXO Victims (National Coordinating Body) since 2013. The Government Office for Mine Action is the focal point for victim assistance coordination and is legally mandated to oversee data collection.[7] In 2015 and 2016, the National Coordinating Body met twiceper year. By 2017, the National Action Plan for Mine and UXO Victims 2010–2014 had not been revised and a new plan for the next period had not been drafted or adopted.[8] Croatia provided detailed reporting on casualty data and government and NGO victim assistance activities in Form J of its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for 2016.[9] Information on victim assistance was reported in Form H of Croatia’s Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report for 2016.[10] Victim assistance activities were also reported in its CCW Protocol V reporting.[11]

Participation and inclusion in victim assistance

Survivors and/or their representative organizations equally participated in the two National Coordinating Body meetings in 2015. Survivors participate in the work of government and non-government bodies. Persons with disabilities, including survivors and/or representatives of their organizations, were involved in consultations through the networking of civilian victims and MineAid.[12]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities

Name of organization

Type of organization

Type of activity

Changes in quality/coverage of service in 2016

Model of Active Rehabilitation and Education (MARE) Center

National NGO

Specialized facility for psychological support and social reintegration for survivors and other people with trauma

Continued psychosocial rehabilitation activities for survivors and other people in need

MineAid

National NGO

Group therapy, individual psychological help for survivors and family members, information on employment and self-employment, professional education, visits to survivors, and social and financial support; awareness-raising and advocacy

Increased employment and social inclusion opportunities for marginalized women in mine-affected areas

Documenta

National association

Assessment and legal support

Continued activities related to mine survivors

KUŽM

National NGO

Peer support, psychological assistance, information, and medical and employment referrals

Closed due to a lack of financial resources

 

Emergency and continuing medical care

All mine/ERW survivors were entitled to healthcare and social protection measures. Basic assistance, from first aidto informing all survivors and their families about their rights, was generally provided through government institutions.[13]

The CroatianInstitute for HealthInsurance is responsible for providing emergencymedical aidandcontinuingmedicalcare, physical and medical rehabilitation,orthopedics,andother assistive devices. Health servicesare equallyavailable to allinsuredpeopleregardless ofgender,age, or religion.[14]

Physical rehabilitation including prosthetics

Following emergency care, an injured survivor has the right to access various appropriate forms of medical care, including inpatient rehabilitation, physical therapy in healthcare facilities and in community health centers, or physical therapy in the patient’s home. The Institute for Health Insurance maintains a detailed record of rehabilitationcapacity and staff in the 10 most mine/ERW-affected counties, including the facilities and physiotherapistsproviding home-based assistance in each county.[15]

The Croatian Institute for Health Insurance also covers the costs of basic orthopedic and prosthetic devices and mobility for survivors and other persons with disabilities. Survivors often reported that the quality of orthopedic devices and/or the frequency with which they received them were inadequate.[16]

Economic and social inclusion and psychological support

In 2014, MineAid implemented a project on empowerment and education for social inclusion of womenin the mine/ERW-affected county of Sisak-Moslavina. The project included unemployed women aged 25–65 years, who are social welfare beneficiaries, living in underprivileged areas, and members of ethnic minorities and/or victims of domestic violence. The project provided psychosocial support while increasing the beneficiaries’ employment potential. The project involved local mobile teams, workshops, certified education opportunities, and volunteer activities in the community.[17]

In 2015 and 2016, MineAid continued to implement the project “Knowledge-Opportunity-Synergy” in Sisak-Moslavina county. The project included unemployed women aged 30–65 and youth aged 15–29 from affected communities who were also social welfare beneficiaries living in deprived areas, are members of ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, or victims of domestic violence. The project provided some 300 counselling sessions, created 10 business plans, linked beneficiaries with potential employers in the local community, and provided training in farming and marketing produce.[18]

The Ministry of Veterans Affairs operated 21 interdisciplinary centers for psychosocial support, which also provided a mobile emergency service for crisis situations. There were also a central center in Zagreb and four regional centers for psychological support.[19] No significant changes were reported in 2016.

The Zabok General Hospital and Hospital for Croatian Veterans exclusively provided medical services for Croatian war veterans, war disabled, and their family members.[20]

MARE provided rehabilitation for three mine/ERW survivors and their family members in 2016, a decrease from 14 in 2015.[21]

The Croatian Employment Service (CES), in cooperation with the town of Zagreb, the Institute for Disability Assessment and Professional Rehabilitation, and the Institution for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons through Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (URIHO),[22] implemented a program to improve access to career management and develop new employment models for persons with disabilities.[23] In 2016, the CES had records on 47 mine/ERW survivors among some 7,000 persons with disabilities seeking employment, of which 2,853 persons with disabilities were employed in that year. CES employment support included 12 months of co-financing for newly employed persons for 75% of the annual cost of the gross salary.[24]

Laws and policies

In reviewing Croatia’s initial reporting under the CRPD, theCommittee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilitiesrecommended that Croatia begin a comprehensive review of existing legislation and align legislation with the CRPD, in accordance with the human rights model of disability.[25]

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilitiesexpressed concerned that the majority of persons with disabilities in Croatia are either unemployed or have low-income employment.[26]

Every employer, including those in the private sector, with at least 20 employees is required to hire a proportional number of persons with disabilities in appropriate working conditions.[27] This specific quota is contingent on a ratio to the total number of employees and the type of work; with a standard overall quota of 3%. Employers who do not comply with the quota of employment are required to pay a penalty.Incentives for employers were also introduced.[28]

TheCommittee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilitiesnoted that when allocating social services and benefits, the government made a distinction between different causes of impairment, such as through war or accidents. It recommended that disability-based services and benefits be made available to all persons with disabilities irrespective of the cause of their impairment.[29] MineAid, in conjunction with the Office for Demining and CROMAC, called upon the government to ensure equal opportunities for all persons with disabilities regardless of the way that their impairments were acquired.[30]

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilitiesexpressed concern that the ombudsperson for persons with disabilities, as the independent monitoring body, is not designated as such by law and that it has no outreach possibilities to rural areas. It also raised concerns that disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) and other civil society organizations were not sufficiently supported by the government to participate in national implementation and monitoring.[31]

Croatia has strong legislation on building construction that requires buildings be adapted and made accessible for persons with disabilities. However, implementation in 2016 was problematic because the relevant supervisory bodies did not enforce penalties in cases of violations.[32]



[1] Statement by Croatia, CCW Protocol V Meeting of Experts, Geneva, 7 April 2015.

[2] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for the calendar year 2015), Form H.3.

[3] Mine Ban Treaty, Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form J; email form Hrvoje Debač, Office for Mine Action,31 March 2016; and interview with Maja Dundov Gali, CROMAC, 6 April 2016.

[4] Email form Hrvoje Debač, Office for Mine Action,31 March 2016; and interview with Maja Dundov Gali, CROMAC, 6 April 2016.

[5] Email from Milena Čalić Jelić, Documenta, 6 April 2016.

[6] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for the calendar year 2016), Form H; and email form Hrvoje Debač, Office for Mine Action, 31 March 2016.

[7] Email form Hrvoje Debač, Office for Mine Action,31 March 2016.

[8] Emails from Marija Breber, MineAid, 6 April 2016, and 6 April 2017.

[9] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2016), Form J.

[10] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for the calendar year 2016), Form H.

[11] CCW Protocol V Article 10 Report (for calendar year 2016), Form C.

[12] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for the calendar year 2016), Form H.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Information provided by the CroatianInstitute for HealthInsurance, received via email from Marija Breber, MineAid, 11 March 2014.

[15] Ibid., 15 April 2014.

[16] Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2013), Form H; and Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2012), Form H.

[17] Email from Marija Berber, MineAid, 1 April 2015.

[18] Ibid., 6 April 2016, and 6 April 2017.

[19] Interview with Mladen Loncar, Psychiatrist, Ministry of Veterans, 12 December 2014.

[20]General Hospital Zabok,” undated.

[21] Interviews with Marij Plesec Pongrac, Director, MARE, 15 April 2016, and 18 February 2017.

[22] “Ustanovaza profesionalnu rehabilitaciju i zapošljavanje osoba s invaliditetom.”

[23] Data from CES received via email from Hrvoje Debač, Office for Mine Action, 20 March 2014.

[24] CES, “Statistics,” 6 April 2017.

[25] Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, “Concluding observations on the initial report of Croatia,” CRPD/C/HRV/CO/1, 17 April 2015, paras. 5–6.

[26] Ibid., paras. 41–42.

[27] Interview with Marijana Senjak, CES, 12 December 2014.

[28] Email from Maja Dundov Gali, CROMAC, 7 April 2015; and Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2014), Form H.

[29] Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, “Concluding observations on the initial report of Croatia,” CRPD/C/HRV/CO/1, 17 April 2015, paras. 7–8.

[30] Email from Marija Breber, MineAid, 1 March 2015.

[31] Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, “Concluding observations on the initial report of Croatia,” CRPD/C/HRV/CO/1, 17 April 2015.

[32] United States Department of State, “2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Croatia,” 3 March 2017; and email from Marija Breber, MineAid, 13 March 2014.