CROATIA | Ombudswoman Submits 2023 Annual Report to the Croatian Parliament

On 29 March 2024, Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter submitted a new annual report to the Croatian Parliament. The Ombudswoman’s report for 2023 provides an analysis and assessment of the human rights situation in Croatia, as well as 147 recommendations.

Citizens’ complaints pertaining to various areas of life reflect some similar problems in the actions of various public authorities, such as failing to inform citizens about their rights and how to exercise them and failing to sufficiently apply the principle of assisting the parties in the proceedings. Furthermore, their communication with citizens was not always timely and of good quality. All of these represent obstacles to the exercise of the right to good governance, contributing to distrust in the institutions.

Last year, citizens addressed the Ombudswoman most commonly due to problems with realizing the right to health, followed by discrimination in various areas of life and violations of the right to work.

Complaints related to the right to health showed that healthcare services were difficult to access, there was a lack of doctors and medical teams, and patients often did not receive complete information. Residents of remote areas and islands expressed fear of losing their only doctor, oncology patients faced waiting lists and malfunctioning diagnostic equipment, while palliative care patients often did not receive dignified end-of-life care. Complaints came from people with severe and/or chronic illnesses and in poor financial situations, mothers receiving maternity/parental support, and students studying outside Croatia who lost compulsory health insurance after the obligation of regular personal visits to Croatian Health Insurance Fund was introduced.

The largest number of discrimination complaints related to the area of work and employment, with the most frequent grounds cited being racial or ethnic/national origin, with Roma being the most exposed. A significant number of discrimination cases remain unreported, indicating the need to raise awareness of the prohibition of discrimination and to strengthen the protection mechanisms. One of the means to achieve this is performing analyses of judicial practice, which is also part of the Ombudswoman’s 2023 Report.

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Source: Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia