State of the World's Minorities 2006 - Croatia
| Publisher | Minority Rights Group International |
| Publication Date | 22 December 2005 |
| Cite as | Minority Rights Group International, State of the World's Minorities 2006 - Croatia, 22 December 2005, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/48abdd8737.html [accessed 3 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Although Croatia passed a Constitutional Law on National Minorities in 2001, it has been slow to put the political will behind implementation of certain components. In particular, the establishment of minority councils at the local level has proven slow. Nevertheless, there have been important changes in both legislation and practice, and the dialogue between the authorities and representatives of national minorities has improved. The work with reintegrating Serbian returnees is progressing, albeit at a less than satisfactory level to the extent that it appears as if the Croatian government is using the technique of stalling as a way of losing its Serbian minority. In 2003, the government adopted a National Programme for the Roma, which set out policies to help the Roma to integrate into all levels of society in a systematic manner. The Programme has been extensively criticized for its lack of concrete input from the Roma community and contradictory aims in terms of gender and child integration. As the Programme is also very poorly funded, it remains questionable whether it was conceived as a genuine attempt to integrate Roma.
