Author
The LITP enumerates as vulnerable persons: persons without legal capacity, children, unaccompanied children, elderly and infirm persons, seriously ill persons, disabled persons, pregnant women, single parents with minor children, persons with mental disorders and victims of trafficking, as well as victims of torture, rape or other forms of psychological, physical and sexual violence, such as victims of female genital mutilation.[1] The LITP provides special procedural and reception guarantees (see section on Special Procedural Guarantees).
However, until now, the Ministry of Interior still does not have a special unit dealing with vulnerable groups, but accommodates their needs in the general reception system.
When accommodating applicants in the Reception Centre, gender, age, position of vulnerable groups, applicants with special reception needs and family unity shall be particularly taken into account.[2] Those with special reception needs may be placed in an appropriate institution or can be granted accommodation in accordance with regulations on social welfare, if accommodation appropriate for their needs cannot be provided in the Reception Centre.[3]
According to the Ministry of Interior, during 2023, 12,389 applicants for international protection were identified as members of vulnerable groups. Out of that number, 10,634 were children and 1,516 unaccompanied children, while 49 women and 15 men were victims of gender-based violence and one woman and 14 men were exposed to torture in their country of origin. Also, a total of 16 applicants were exposed to psychological violence, of which three were women and 13 were men, while 10 men were exposed to physical violence, and the remaining number of applicants was divided into other categories of vulnerability. Considering that 48% of applicants who expressed the intention to apply for international protection have never appeared in Reception Centres for Applicants for International Protection, as well as due to short stays in Reception Centres, the identification of vulnerable groups is difficult.[4]
The Ordinance on the Realisation of Material Reception Conditions prescribes that reception conditions should be adapted to the needs of applicants, psychosocial support should be provided, and special care should be given to applicants with special reception needs. The process of identifying those with special reception needs should be conducted by professionals who provide psychosocial support in the Reception Centre, and if necessary, the Institution for Social Welfare can participate in the assessment. The Institution for Social Welfare involved in the procedure for identifying applicants with special reception needs shall notify the Reception Centre of all measures and actions taken.[5]
Applicants with special health care needs shall be provided a special diet, based on the recommendations of the physician.[6]
There is no monitoring mechanism in place with regards to measures for addressing special needs of applicants accommodated in the centres. However, according to the Ministry of Interior, measures for vulnerable persons include accommodation in a room in a different wing of the Reception Centres more suitable to the person’s needs or transfer to another facility, constant monitoring of psychological and mental health from psychologist and social workers, food deliverance to room when needed, etc.[7]
Social workers of the Ministry of Interior and the Croatian Red Cross are available daily in the Reception Centres and can provide support. In practice, during their regular work and communication with applicants as well as during individual and group support, Croatian Red Cross employees can observe the needs of vulnerable groups and, where there is a need, can accordingly propose changes in the reception of particular applicants to the Head of Reception Centre (for example, a person may need to be accommodated in a single room, or with other persons, or may need to be relocated to the Reception Centre in Kutina, which is specifically designed for vulnerable applicants).
The Ministry of Interior, depending on the needs of the applicant, cooperates with other competent bodies in relation to reception guarantees, for example with Institution for Social Welfare which is, when appropriate, included in the procedure for assessing special needs. In case adequate accommodation cannot be provided for those persons in the Reception Centre for Applicants for International Protection, a person would be accommodated in another appropriate institution or can be granted accommodation according to the social welfare regulations. Also, when needed, special dietary requirements will be provided based on the recommendation of the competent physician. Applicants accommodated in the Reception Centre are provided with three meals a day and pregnant women, babies and children under the age of 16 are provided with an afternoon snack. Upon recommendation of the doctor, separate accommodation would be provided to those with special reception needs. If needed, they would be provided with appropriate health care related to their specific health condition.[8]
During 2023, a total of 1.113 unaccompanied children were accommodated in Reception Centers for Applicants for international protection. With regards to persons with special needs, in 2023 , 379 applicants for international protection were accommodated outside Reception centres. That included: one applicant for international protection who, due to a serious illness, was accommodated in a nursing home for the elderly, one minor applicant who was accommodated in a social care institution due to domestic violence, two women who were victims of gender-based violence and who were accommodated in safe houses, one of whom was accommodated there together with her minor child and a total of 374 unaccompanied children who were accommodated in homes for children and youth. However, majority of unaccompanied children who were accommodated in homes for children and youth left the institution within a very short time after accommodation. [9]
However, Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) pointed out that there is still an inadequate system for identifying vulnerable groups within Reception Centres for Applicants of International Protection and Reception Centre for Foreigners. CPS also reported the questionable level of psychological support provided to applicants in reception centres who suffer from trauma, PTSD and similar conditions in which quality, professional, individualised psychological support is needed [10]
Reception of women and children
According to the Ordinance on the realisation of material reception conditions, when accommodating applicants in the Reception Centre, the following circumstances are taken into account: gender, age, the position of vulnerable groups, applicants with special reception needs and integrity of the family.[11]
Separate premises are provided in the Reception Centre in Kutina for women and vulnerable groups. Families are kept together,[12] while single women,[13] unaccompanied children[14] and traumatised applicants[15] are accommodated in separate rooms.
Reception of unaccompanied children
With regard to unaccompanied children, the LITP prescribes that the special guardian of the unaccompanied child shall undertake, as soon as possible after the application for international protection is submitted, all necessary actions to find the family members and reunite the child with the family, if that is in the child’s interest, including contacting and cooperating with relevant ministries, other state and foreign bodies and NGOs. The special guardian must respect the principle of confidentiality when collecting, processing, and exchanging information about the child and family members so as not to jeopardize their safety.[16]
The child shall be provided with access to recreational activities, including age-appropriate play and recreational activities and outdoor activities.[17]
In practice, most unaccompanied foreign children up to now are placed in children and young people’s homes. Children under 14 years of age are accommodated in children’s homes, while children above the age of 14 are accommodated in Residential Child Care Institutions. Although these are open facilities, they are not adapted to the needs of this category of children. Special concerns from various NGOs have been raised in relation to accommodating children in Residential Child Care Institutions as their primary function is to treat children with behavioural difficulties, so the conditions of their stay cannot be considered suitable for this group, especially when taking into account the specific needs of these children, as well as unavailability of interpreters in those institutions.[18]
According to UNICEF, social welfare homes where unaccompanied children are accommodated reported an increase in the number of unaccompanied children in 2023 and that children stayed in the institutions for a very short time.[19]
The Croatian government designated two facilities for children in Zagreb and in Split for the initial reception of UASC during which best interests’ procedures are undertaken…[20] However, according to the Ombudsperson for Children due to the increased number, children are accepted in other social welfare institutions.
The Ombudswoman for Children reported a lack of accommodation capacity, for example in relation to the Centre in Zagreb where unaccompanied children are accommodated. She also reported the lack of systematic support both to unaccompanied children and to employees of those institutions.[21]
A Protocol on the treatment of unaccompanied children was adopted in August 2018 (see Identification) which foresees the possibility of accommodation with foster families.
A Law on Foster Care, which entered into force on 1 January 2019 has opened the possibility for unaccompanied children to be accommodate in foster families.[22] According to Ombudsperson for Children and the Ministry of Interior, in 2023, there were no children accommodated in foster families.[23]
The Croatian Red Cross (CRC) reported that in 2023, CRC mobile team composed of psychologists, experts from CRC’s Search Service and interpreter/cultural mediator conducted 62 visits to institutions where unaccompanied children are accommodated to provide psychosocial support to children and provide material services (such as clothing and school supplies). An initial needs assessment was conducted with children to gather information about the child and determine needs and priorities. An individual support plan was created for 100 unaccompanied children mostly from Afghanistan, Syria and Turkey. During 2023, 48 assistances were provided by CRC to special guardians and workers of institutions where children are accommodated. Special attention and individual psychosocial support was provided to 14 unaccompanied children who have lived in Croatia for a longer time and who faced the challenges of adapting to a new environment and had a hard time coping with the stress caused by multiple traumatic experiences that they survived during travel and/or in the country of origin or while waiting for the completion of the family reunification procedure or decision on international protection. Numerous individual and group activities were conducted with unaccompanied children. In addition, eight social activities to which 14 CRC volunteers participated to encourage the integration of children into Croatian society, were organized. In cooperation with UNHCR, the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, the Ministry of Interior and the Croatian Institute for Social Work, CRC organized two trainings for special guardians of unaccompanied children. The trainings were held in Osijek and Zagreb and 45 employees of the local branches of Croatian Institute for Social Work attended the trainings. In addition, education for volunteers of the City Red Cross Society Zagreb was also held. Volunteers then became actively involved in the organization of activities with unaccompanied children and in providing individual support in mastering the language and school material, to children who were included in the education system.[24]
In 2023, there were 12,150 children applicants for international protection. Among them, 1516 were unaccompanied children, of which 1458 boys and 58 girls.[25]
However, according to the Ombudsperson for Children in 2023, only 19 unaccompanied children submitted applications for international protection. Regardless of the year when applications were submitted, in 2023, 156 procedures were suspended in cases of unaccompanied children, while international protection was granted to 14 accompanied minors.[26]
In 2023, 1,113 unaccompanied children were accommodated in Reception Centers for Applicants for international protection, one child applicant was placed in a social welfare institution due to domestic violence, while 374 unaccompanied children were placed in children and young people’s homes.[27]
Reception of victims of torture, violence and trauma
No system for early identification of victims of torture or other forms of ill-treatment by competent authorities and professionals has yet been developed according to the knowledge of Croatian Law Centre. According to the LITP, applicants who need special reception and/or procedural guarantees, especially victims of torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence, shall be provided with the appropriate health care related to their specific condition or the consequences resulting from the mentioned acts.[28] When accommodating applicants in the Reception Centre, special attention shall be paid to gender, age, the situation of vulnerable groups, applicants with special reception needs, and family unity.[29]
In 2020, the Ordinance on health care standards for applicants for international protection and foreigners under temporary protection entered into force regulating, amongst other, the scope of health care for vulnerable groups.[30] This is discussed in detail in the section on Health Care.
Standard Operational Procedures in Cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Reception Centres for Applicants of International Protection entered into force in 2021.
[1] Article 4(1)(14) LITP.
[2] Article 56(6) LITP; Article 6(1) Ordinance on the Realisation of Material Reception Conditions.
[3] Article 7(3) Ordinance on the Realisation of Material Reception Conditions.
[4] Information provided by the Ministry of Interior, 8 March 2024,
[5] Article 12(1)-(3) Ordinance on the Realisation of Material Reception Conditions.
[6] Article 20(2) Ordinance on the Realisation of Material Reception Conditions.
[7] EUAA, Information on procedural elements and rights of applicants subject to a Dublin transfer to Croatia, available at: https://bit.ly/3VLNPKc.
[8] Information provided by the Ministry of Interior, 28 January 2019.
[9] Information provided by the Ministry of Interior, 8 March 2024.
[10] Information provided by the Centre For Peace studies, 30 January 2024.
[11] Article (6) 1 Ordinance on the realisation of material reception conditions.
[12] Article 11 Ordinance on the realisation of material reception conditions.
[13] Article 16 Ordinance on the realisation of material reception conditions.
[14] Article 15 Ordinance on the realisation of material reception conditions
[15] Article 12 Ordinance on the realisation of material reception conditions
[16] Article 10(3) – (4) LITP.
[17] Article 10(5) LITP.
[18] Information provided by the Centre For Peace studies, 30 January 2024; UNICEF, 22 January 2024 , see also Ombudswoman for Children: Report on the work of the Ombudswoman for Children in 2023, available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/3zeXcJw.
[19] Information provided by UNICEF, 22 January 2024.
[20] UNHCR; UNICEF and IOM: Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe – Accompanied, Unaccompanied and Separated, Overview of Trends January to June 2020 available in English at: https://bit.ly/32AD0OY.
[21] Ombudswoman for Children: Report on the work of the Ombudswoman for Children in 2023, available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/3zeXcJw.
[22] Official Gazette 115/2018, available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/2xP8gh5.
[23] Ombudswoman for Children, Report on the work of the Ombudswoman for Children in 2023, available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/3zeXcJw; Ministry of Interior, 8 March 2024.
[24] Croatian Red Cross: Annual report on the work of Croatian Red Cross in 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3z8D4Jj.
[25] Information provided by the Ministry of Interior, 8 March 2024.
[26] Ombudswoman for Children, Report on the work of the Ombudswoman for Children in 2023, available in Croatian at: https://bit.ly/3zeXcJw.
[27] Information provided by the Ministry of Interior, 8 March 2024.
[28] Article 57(2) LITP.
[29] Article 56(6) LITP.
[30] Official Gazette 28/2020, 13 March 2020, available in Croatia at: https://bit.ly/2PcZGBM.