On behalf of the Centre for Peace Studies and the Welcome Initiative, we would like to express our concerns regarding German Chancellor Angela Merkel's praise of Croatia three days ago at the press conference in Berlin, after her meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, which was also highlighted on the German government website. 

The civil society organizations Are you Syrious (AYS)?, Centre for Peace Studies, and lawyers Sanja Bezbradica Jelavic and Ivo Jelavic held a press conference on Apr 18 and warned about the pressure that the Croatian Ministry of Interior puts on the attorney's office that protects refugees, as well as against the activists of organizations providing legal and humanitarian protection to refugees.

Today, the European Court of Human Rights sent an urgent notification of their decision on an interim measure requiring the Croatian Ministry of Interior to immediately place Madina’s  family in an environment where the family will not be exposed to inhumane or degrading treatment. The Court also emphasizes that they are convinced that Croatia will not deport the family to Serbia or Afghanistan until they have answered the questions submitted by the Court.

This paper is designed to inform EU decision-makers about the increasing restrictions facing independent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the EU. NGOs are vital to the proper functioning of healthy, rights-respecting democracies operating under the rule of law. Yet the practices, laws and policies of national authorities and sometimes the EU itself are hampering the ability of these organisations to operate – often this is indeed the express aim of national governments. This paper will begin by explaining the role that NGOs play in facilitating democratic participation, upholding the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights. It will then outline the principal obstacles facing NGOs before putting forward recommendations directed at the EU institutions that would allow the EU to preserve the freedoms that NGOs require to perform their tasks and facilitate their development.

By selling arms to Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Croatia has violated the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty which requires that prior to the export of weapons, a state must first undertake an assessment of the potential risks that the weapons sold will be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and if the assessment determines that such a risk exists, then arms exports shall not be authorized by the State party. 

Today the Center for Peace Studies and Human Rights House Zagreb sent an open letter to Prime Minister Plenković warning of the degradation of the National Plan to Combat Discrimination from 2017 to 2022. Below is the full text of the letter. 

Stop militarization of the Croatian society – no to military service, no to military parades.

Considering the concerning appearance of militarization of our society in the last couple of months, which culminated in this week's discussions about an alleged resurrection of compulsory military service and the announcement of the organization of a military parade, Centre for Peace Studies calls Mrs. President of Republic Croatia to give up on this political thought. We also call the Croatian government to abolish the idea of organizing a military parade on the occasion of marking the anniversary of 20 years since the operation „Oluja“.