The Centre for Peace Studies (CPS), in collaboration with a lawyer, has today submitted an appeal to the Municipal Misdemeanor Court in Zagreb against the verdict that resulted in the long-time activist against Putin and human rights defender Vladislav Arinichev spending 15 days in detention. Arinichev protested in Zagreb against the life-threatening actions of the Security and Intelligence Agency. After being released from prison, Arinichev was again deprived of liberty as Croatia denied his asylum request, and he has been on a hunger strike for five days in the reception centre for foreigners in Trilj.

Project Description:

"Lives in Motion" is a non-formal educational project implemented by civil society organizations from Italy, Romania, Portugal, and Croatia (Maghweb, ANP | WFF, Polylogos, Center for Peace Studies). The project is funded by EACEA under the CERV-EU-REM program. Through the project partners will collaboratively develop, test, and disseminate an interdisciplinary, non-formal educational toolkit that provides high school teachers and students (aged 15-18) with a multi-faced, historical, and critical understanding of migrations into, out of, and within Europe.

On 10 April 2024, the European Parliament adopted the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, a package of reforms expanding the criminalisation and digital surveillance of migrants. 

Despite civil society organisations’ repeated warnings, the Pact “will normalise the arbitrary use of immigration detention, including for children and families, increase racial profiling, use ‘crisis’ procedures to enable pushbacks, and return individuals to so called ‘safe third countries’ where they are at risk of violence, torture, and arbitrary imprisonment”.

The statement has been written collectively by the #ProtectNotSurveil coalition following the European Parliament’s final vote on the EU AI Act. The whole statement is available on the Access Now web page. 

In light of the impending expiration of temporary protection on 4 March 2025, we, alongside 130 civil society organizations, urgently appeal to the European Union for the development and implementation of coordinated, comprehensive, and sustainable solutions to ensure the continued safety, rights, and inclusion of millions of displaced Ukrainians in Europe.

On 18 July 2023, Centre for Peace Studies and Human Rights House Zagreb filed a final submission to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in accordance with Rule 9.2. of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers for the supervision of the execution of judgments and of the terms of friendly settlements in the case, a proposal of measures for the execution of the judgment M.H. and Others v. Croatia no. 15670/18 and 43115/18. 

From May 22-25, the third partner meeting of the project MigrArts: inclusion of migrants through art and culture was held in Zagreb.

Today, on 18th April 2023, a new lawsuit was filed at the Constitutional Court of Croatia, for an ineffective and inadequate investigation into a pushback case, by a group of refugees who were victims of a particularly brutal pushback from Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in October 2020 which included severe violence and sexual assault. 

The starting point of this project is the understanding that integration of migrant population and anti-racist policies are inherently connected and necessarily need to go hand in hand. 

Most EU countries made little effort to resolve documented rule of law issues, allowed existing shortcomings to go unaddressed, or even made things worse in all areas assessed, ‘Liberties Rule of Law Report 2023’ (Report) finds. Exceeding the scope of the European Commission’s annual rule of law audit, Liberties’ Report lays out the most striking developments concerning justice, corruption, media freedom, checks and balances, civic space and systemic human rights issues in 2022 as compiled by 45 human rights organizations in 18 countries across the EU. The Report is the most in-depth ‘shadow report’ exercise to date on the rule of law by an independent civil liberties network in the EU.