46 OSCE participating States have submitted hate crime information to ODIHR for 2022. Of these, 40 provided statistics, while 29 provided statistics disaggregated by bias motivation.

The official figures are complemented by reports on hate incidents from 113 civil society groups, covering 46 participating States. These contributions amount to 8,106 hate incidents, including 3,628 statistical incidents and 4,478 incidents for which detailed descriptions were provided. This information includes incidents provided by the Holy See, UNHCR and OSCE missions.

“Hate crimes are especially harmful because they target victims simply for being who they are,” said Matteo Mecacci, ODIHR Director. “Greater efforts are needed by the authorities to acknowledge the underlying bias and prosecute hate crimes accordingly. In this way, they are also publicly recognizing the impact of such crimes on victims and increasing their confidence in the criminal justice system.”

When hate crimes are investigated and prosecuted as such, victims and their communities receive a clear message that their efforts to report hate-motivated attacks are not in vain and that the criminal justice system will provide redress for the harm caused. Without effective prosecution and investigation of hate crime cases, targeted groups are left to address the impact of hate on the community, undermining trust in the authorities and, as a result, potentially causing wider social instability.

For Croatia, the data is available here.

Key observation by ODIHR on this matter is that they recognize Croatia's efforts to regularly report hate crime information and data to ODIHR. However, based on the available information, it observes that Croatia's hate crime recording and statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that Croatia would benefit from raising awareness among and building the capacity of criminal justice officials to address hate crime. Further, the ODIHR stands ready to support Croatia in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as by providing further resources and tailored capacity-building assistance for police, prosecution, and judiciary which we hope the institutions will wholeheartedly accept.