According to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees there are around 19,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Croatia. This is a smaller number in comparison to other countries in the region, which amount to over 1 million persons. A number of provisions of the Constitution, which protect fundamental rights, would protect IDPs present in Croatia.

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According to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees there are around 19,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Croatia. This is a smaller number in comparison to other countries in the region, which amount to over 1 million persons. A number of provisions of the Constitution, which protect fundamental rights, would protect IDPs present in Croatia. Article 32 states that persons lawfully within the territory of the Republic of Croatia shall enjoy the liberty of movement and freedom to choose their own residence. The Constitution protects a number of other fundamental human rights, such as the right to life and right to family life. The fundamental human rights of IDPs would also be protected by international human rights instruments to which Croatia is a signatory such as the European Convention on Human Rights (1950), the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1951) and the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1951). As of August 2002 there were no references to the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in national law. (see United Nations-8.14-IDPs).

The Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities adopted in December 2002 would protect IDPs from discrimination. The Law under Article 5 defines minorities as including groups whose members have “ethnic, linguistic, cultural and/or religious features different from other citizens”. Article 4(4) prohibits all discriminatory actions based on belonging to a national minority, and guarantees equal rights before the law and equal protection of the law.

Croatia provides protection specific to IDPs under the Law on the Status of Expellees and Refugees of 1993 (as amended). The Directorate for the Displaced Persons, Returnees and Refugees (DDPR), under the Ministry for Public Works, Reconstruction and Construction (MPWRC) is the main governmental body responsible for the rights of IDPs. Displaced Persons are entitled to food, accommodation, basic healthcare and primary education. Since the return process began in 1995 a great number of IDPs in Croatia have returned to their homes, those that remain are largely awaiting the reconstruction of housing stock and infrastructure and repossession of property and housing, since 2000 the government has given priority to these two activities. An amendment was made in July 2002 to the Law on Areas of Special State Concern on repossession, which placed responsibility on the Ministry for Public Works Reconstruction and Construction to administer property repossession from September 2002 and the Housing Commissions previously responsible were abolished. The Law established a time limit for the repossession of property by the owners by 31 December 2002. If at that time the property was not returned compensation for damages became available to the owner, as a mandatory measure of protection of ownership rights, which they are entitled to be paid monthly until they can take repossession of their property. The Law also introduces a category of temporary accommodation to be granted to returnees until permanent accommodation is available . The MPWRC, through the State Attorneys Office, initiates eviction proceedings before the courts against persons who refuse to leave properties which do not belong to them.

In relation to IDPs who do not own property but formally resided in state owned properties and are ex-tenancy holders, the Croatian government approved on June 12, 2003 a new Housing Plan to address their needs and grant them housing. The Plan envisages two options for this group, either subsidized rent of state-owned apartments under the same conditions granted to the rest of former tenancy rights holders who did not leave their homes during the conflict, or the choice of purchasing property with low rate loans under the state-subsidized Housing Program.

The support of IDPs in Croatia was reported by the OSCE in the period between November 2002 and June 2003 to have been influenced and improved by the Stability and Association Agreement (SAA) (see 8.12 – International Co-operation on Migration) and Croatia’s application to join the European Union, filed in February 2002.

Analysis provided by: Anisa Niaz LLM (Public Law), United Kingdom.

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