A delegation of the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) carried out an evaluation visit to Croatia on 3-7 June 2024, as part of the fourth evaluation round of the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.
This new evaluation round of monitoring the implementation of the Convention focuses on vulnerabilities to human trafficking and measures taken by States Parties to prevent them, detect and support vulnerable victims, and punish the offenders. This includes the use of information and communication technology (ICT), which brings structural changes to the way offenders operate and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities.
Prior to the visit, the Croatian authorities provided a reply to GRETA’s questionnaire for the fourth evaluation round. In addition to the new thematic focus, GRETA examined how the main recommendations made in its third evaluation report have been implemented.
During the visit, the GRETA delegation met Mr Alen Tahiri, Director of the Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities and National Co-ordinator for Combating Human Trafficking, as well as representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, the Labour Inspectorate, the Croatian Employment Service, and the Institute for Expertise, Vocational Training Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities. Meeting were also held with the State Attorney’s Office, the Supreme Court, the Police and Judicial Academies, and the Bar Association. Further, the delegation met with representatives of the Office of the Ombudsperson, the Office of the Children’s Ombudsperson, the Office of the Gender Equality Ombudsperson, and the Office of the Ombudsperson for Persons with Disabilities.
In addition to holding meetings in Zagreb, GRETA’s delegation travelled to Čakovec where it met with members of the mobile team against human trafficking and representatives of the Institute for Social Work from Čakovec, Osijek and Zagreb, the Police Administration of the Međimurje County, as well as with representatives of the local self-government.
The GRETA delegation held separate meetings with non-governmental organisations and lawyers representing victims of human trafficking. It also met representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The visit provided an opportunity to visit a shelter for adult victims of human trafficking, as well as the reception centre for asylum seekers in Zagreb.
The visit was carried out by Ms Biljana Lubarovska and Ms Rita Penedo, members of GRETA, who were accompanied by Ms Asja Zujo of the Secretariat of the Convention.
Following the visit, GRETA will prepare a draft report, which will be sent to the Croatian authorities for comments. GRETA will subsequently adopt a final report which will be published in 2025.
