's Office for Human Rights and several equality bodies, such as The Ombudsperson for Human Rights, Ombudsperson for Gender Equality, Children's Ombudsperson and The Disability Ombudsman.
Since independence
Freedom of Speech
Reporters are often sued by politicians for
EU.[1] There have also been cases of physical violence against reporters, such as when two reporters documenting an Easter Vigil were attacked by an unknown individual.[2]
Reproductive Rights
Although
contraception, and has exceptions for women who have been pregnant for more than 10 weeks. However, the country is somewhat split on the issue, with some conservative groups calling for a ban. In one instance, a woman who passed the 10 week deadline was deprived of an abortion by four clinics, even though her fetus had a brain tumor, leading to protests.[1][3]
Migrant Rights
Croatia has been continuously criticized by human rights groups for refusing migrants. Many migrants seeking to get into Croatia are sent back to Bosnia and Herzegovina instead. In some cases, police used violence against migrants.
In December 2023, Croatia was found to have infringed upon the rights of an individual (a stateless man), when they forcibly expelled him from the country without providing any justification for their decision. As a result, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of the victim and ordered Croatia to provide compensation for the violation.[4]
Discrimination Against Roma
UN, the Roma population of Croatia is 30,000-40,000, equivalent to roughly 1% of the population.[5]
LGBTQ Rights
Main article:
homophobic
materials, and defamation of homosexuality and homosexuals. Limited scope of rights were conferred upon same-sex couples after three years of cohabitation in 2003, but registered unions were not permitted until 2014. Since then Croatia provides all marital rights except joint adoption for registered and non-registered same-sex partnerships.
In November 2010, the European Commission's annual progress report on Croatia's candidacy stated that Croatia's numerous homophobic incidents are worrying since inquisitions need to make further efforts in combating hate crimes.[6] The European Parliament, as stands in its 2010 resolution, “expresses its concern at the resentment against the LGBTQ minority in Croatia, evidenced most recently by homophobic attacks on participants in the Gay Pride parade in Zagreb; urges the Croatian authorities to condemn and prosecute political hatred and violence against any minority; invites the Croatian Government to implement and enforce the Anti-Discrimination Law”.[7]
Historical situation
The following chart shows Croatia’s ratings since 1991 in the Freedom in the World reports, published annually by Freedom House. A rating of 1 is "free"; 7, "not free".[8]1
1.^ Note that the "Year" signifies the "Year covered". Therefore the information for the year marked 2008 is from the report published in 2009, and so on.
