Report on the FEMM Committee delegation visit to Zagreb, Croatia, June 2011

Transcription

1 Directorate-General for Internal Policies Directorate C - Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality 12/07/2011 Report on the FEMM Committee delegation visit to Zagreb, Croatia, June 2011 COMPOSITION Eva-Britt SVENSSON, (GUE/NGL, Sweden), Chair of the FEMM Committee Anna ZABORSKA (EPP, Slovakia) Siiri OVIIR (ALDE, Estonia) Marije CORNELISSEN (GREENS/EFA, The Netherlands) Members were accompanied by Sabina Magnano and Ina Sokolska from the committee secretariat, Valborg Linden-Jonsten (S&D group advisor) and Tom Feeley (ALDE group advisor). PURPOSE The delegation visited Croatia in order to learn about the gender equality legislation and women's rights policy as well as overall progress achieved in this policy area by Croatia in view of its accession to the EU. PRESS At the conclusion of the visit a press statement was issued by the Committee Chair. MEETINGS (See full programme in enclosed Annex I) 16 June Meeting with Mr. Paolo Berizzi, Head of Political, Economic, Trade and Press & Information Section of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Croatia. Mr. Paolo Berizzi briefed the FEMM Committee delegation members on the political situation in Croatia. He recalled that negotiations on Croatia's accession to the EU - 1 -

2 have started in October 2005 and are going to be finalised in the coming weeks. 1 July 2013 is a target date for Croatia's accession to the EU. The Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Croatia is constantly monitoring the negotiation process according to the requirements defined by the EU. Croatia has implemented the reforms needed to meet accession requirements, but fight against corruption, overcoming the consequences of the civil war, restructuring of shipyards and information campaigns directed to change public opinion on EU accession remain further challenges for Croatian authorities. The briefing was followed by questions from the Members of the delegation about monitoring the situation on women s employment and informing Croatian society about the role of the EU and EU human rights protection standards. 2. Meeting with Ms. Gordana Sobol, Chair of the Committee on Gender Equality of the Sabor (Croatian Parliament) and Members of the Committee (list of members of the Committee is enclosed in Annex II). Ms Gordana Sobol presented the work of the Committee on Gender Equality of the Sabor (Croatian Parliament). She informed the members of the delegation that the Committee was established on 1 March 2001 and is composed of a Chair, a Vice- Chair and 11 members. Ms Gordana Sobol emphasised the following responsibilities of the Committee : 1) determining and monitoring the policy implementation. The Committee is active in adoption of legislation and other relevant provisions in all areas related to gender equality principles in the Croatian legislation, and especially - encouraging the signing of international agreements on gender equality and monitoring the implementation of the provisions contained in these documents. The Committee on Gender Equality of the Croatian Parliament has actively participated in the adoption of 2003 Gender Equality Act and introduced many changes to it for the revision of this Act in Croatian Parliament has adopted extensive gender sensitive legislation such as an Antidiscrimination Act, an Act Against Family Violence, an Act on Same Sex Unions, gender related provisions in the Penal Code and Labour Code; 2) proposing programmes of measures for upgrading the gender equality rights and eradicating gender-based discrimination. Currently the Committee is involved in discussions related to the adoption of 5th National Strategy for Gender Equality; 3) promotion of equal representation of both genders in working groups and parliamentary delegations, 4) implementing measures for gender mainstreaming according to the standards of the EU legislation and programmes. The Committee took active part in the legislative work related to the establishment of the office of the Ombudsman for Gender Equality and the Government s Office for Gender Equality, 5) introducing gender equality principles in education, health, public information, social policies, employment, entrepreneurship, decision-making processes, family relations, and other, 6) fostering cooperation between the Government Committee for Gender Equality, NGOs and other institutions

3 Ms Gordana Sobol further noted that there are not enough funds available for implementation of legislation and programmes and this negatively affects programmes on promotion of women s entrepreneurship, protection from domestic violence, antidiscrimination and others. The presentation was followed by an exchange of views between the Croatian and European Parliamentarians. During the exchange of views EP Members stressed that Croatia is facing the same challenges in adoption and implementation of gender sensitive policies as the EU member states. The discussion also covered the issues of governance, domestic violence, employment policies, education, LGBT rights, participation of women in political life. 3. Meeting with Mr. Luka Bebić, Speaker of the Sabor Mr. Luka Bebić stressed the commitment of the Croatian Parliament to increase women's participation in decision-making. He believed that the introduction in the Croatian legislation of a 40 % party quota for women represented on the electoral lists will increase to 30% the number of women Members of the Croatian Parliament after next parliamentary elections. He also emphasised the strong commitment of the Croatian authorities to accession to the EU and explained the consequences of the judicial reform implemented to meet the EU accession requirements. After the presentation, Members discussed with Mr. Bebić the possibilities of cooperation between the European Parliament and the Croatian Parliament on protection of women s rights and gender equality. 4. Meeting with Ms. Gordana Lukač-Koritnik, Ombudsperson for Gender Equality Ms. Gordana Lukač-Koritnik recalled that the Office of the Ombudsperson for Gender Equality was established in Croatia according to the EU legislation requirements. It deals with cases in which public authority has violated citizens` equality rights. Ms. Gordana Lukač-Koritnik noted that in 2010, out of unemployed in Croatia were women. In % of newly employed workers were hired with fixed term (temporary) contracts. In 2009 this figure rose to 85 % and in 2010 to 89%. The majority of these workers are women. Such employment policies are discriminatory for women: afraid of loosing their jobs women refuse to seek legal protection. As a result, case law on discrimination on gender grounds is practically absent in Croatia. The official figure for gender pay gap in Croatia is 11 %, but the real gender pay gap is much higher. Ms. Lukač-Koritnik also expressed her concern regarding the initiative of the Croatian authorities to merge three Ombudspersons (on gender equality, on children rights and on disability) in one office because in her opinion such reorganization may negatively affect the independent functioning of every ombudsperson. After the presentation Members asked questions and exchanged opinions on the role of state authorities in securing protection from discrimination and enjoyment of citizens` rights

4 5. Meeting with Ms. Vesna Pusić, Chairwoman of the National Committee on the supervision of the accession negotiations Ms. Vesna Pusić briefed Members of the delegation about the functions and responsibilities of the National Committee on the supervision of the accession negotiations and the main challenges that need to be overcome to make Croatia s accession to the EU a success. She noted that while all political parties in Croatia are in favour of accession, not enough work is done in order to gain support from the public opinion. Support of the public has declined by 20 % after the verdict in the case against two Croatian wartime generals was announced by International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in April Currently the support is rising again and it can be estimated that about 60 % of Croatian population is in favour of accession to the EU. Following the presentation Members posed questions on promotion of women in decision-making, further actions of the Committee to empower civil society and better inform about accession to the EU. In particular Members of the delegations asked Ms. Pusić how she informs the Croatian society about the advantages of the accession to the EU. Answering this question, the Chairwoman presented the example of her own family where each generation of women was born in the same city but in a different country. Therefore, according to Ms. Vesna Pusić, it is important to emphasize stability as one of important advantages of accession for Croatian society. 6. Lunch in honour of the Delegation hosted by the Chairwoman of the Committee on Gender Equality, Ms. Gordana Sobol Ms Gordana Sobol, Chairwoman of the Committee on Gender Equality of the Sabor hosted a working lunch for the Members of the delegation. The lunch was an opportunity for an informal exchange of views with the Members of the Committee and the Ombudsperson for Gender Equality about the experiences on protection of women s rights in the EU and in Croatia. 7. Meeting with Mr. Stjepan Adanić, State Secretary of Family, Veterans and Intergenerational Solidarity In the afternoon the delegation visited the Ministry of Family, Veterans and Intergenerational Solidarity where it met with the State Secretary, Mr. Stjepan Adanić. The State Secretary briefed Members about the functions of the Ministry, which has shared responsibility with other authorities on gender equality mainstreaming. In particular, in 2009 it took part in the legislative work on the revision of the Law on Protection from Family Violence (the first law was adopted in 2003). The Act on Child Allowances, the Antidiscrimination Act, the Act on Same Sex Unions, the Gender Equality Act are within the area of responsibilities of the Ministry, although shared with other authorities. The Ministry is also providing 30 % of co-financing for shelters for abused women in Croatia

5 In the second part of the meeting Members asked questions and exchanged views on the reform of the Ombudsperson s office, the situation of single mothers, the protection of children born out of wedlock, access to childcare. 8. Meeting with Mr. Andrej Plenković, State Secretary for European Affairs Later in the afternoon the delegation visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and met with the State Secretary Mr. Andrej Plenković. Mr. Andrej Plenković conveyed to the Euroepan Parliament delegation the greetings from Ms. Jadranka Kosor, the Prime Minister of Croatia. He also informed Members that the Croatian authorities strongly condemn the outbreak of violence during the Gay Pride parade in Split on 12 June and assured that violence and hatred cannot be tolerated in Croatia. The State Secretary briefed Members on the work done by the Croatian authorities to succeed in accession negotiations: in order to meet accession requirements about 500 laws and 1000 by-laws were adopted or amended in Croatia. Because of thorough preparation for the accession, Croatia is expecting to be subject only to ex-ante and not to ex-post accession monitoring. The State Secretary also explained to the Members that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration is working to establish closer cooperation with civil society, NGOs to animate EU accession debate and better inform Croatian society about European integration. After the presentation, Members of the delegation discussed with Mr. Andrej Plenković the perspectives of Croatia s accession to the EU and the protection of human rights and expressed positive impression of the progress achieved. 17 June Meeting with Ms. Helena Štimac Radin, Director of the Government s Office for Gender Equality, Ms. Tatijana Vučetić, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Ms Tatjana Katkić Stanić, Director General of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and Ms. Dunja Skoko-Poljak, Head of the Department for Projects and Programs of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs The meeting started with questions from Members to the ministries` representatives. The representatives of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs briefed Members about healthcare, childcare and social security system in Croatia and answered questions on functioning of primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare. Ms. Helena Štimac Radin presented the responsibilities of the Government s Office for Gender Equality, which was established in October 2004 as an expert service for the Government on gender equality issues. Ms. Tatijana Vučetić explained to Members the reasons for the reform of the Ombudspersons offices, which from the point of view of the Ministry of Justice may result in more efficient performance and division of responsibilities. The presentations were followed by exchange of views with Members of the delegation on healthcare policies, social care and gender sensitive governance

6 10. Meeting with representatives of civil society and NGOs (list of NGOs is enclosed in Annex III) At the beginning of the meeting Members of the delegation posed questions to the representatives of NGOs on a wide range of topics. After hearing the response from the NGO "Family Center" on its position on LGBT rights, the representatives of "Center for LGBT equality" and "LORI" left the meeting room and did not take part in further discussions. The representatives from NGOs expressed their concerns about the implementation of national programmes, insufficient funds for civil society capacity building, lack of gender mainstreaming at regional level. The exchange of views focused on the issues of implementation and financing of gender equality policies, education and gender studies, gender based violence and women`s protection from such violence, childcare, situation of Roma women in Croatia, protection of LGBT rights, gender pay gap and employment, women`s entrepreneurship

7 Directorate-General for Internal Policies Directorate C - Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality Annex I Delegation to Zagreb, Croatia June 2011 Final Programme Accommodation: Hotel The Regent Esplanade Mihanoviceva 1 Croatia Zagreb Phone Wednesday, 15 June 2011 Arrival of the FEMM Delegation members to Zagreb Thursday, 16 June Meeting in the hotel lobby and departure by bus to the Croatian Parliament 8.40 Arrival at the Parliament welcome by Ms. Gordana Sobol, Chair of the Gender Equality Committee Briefing on political situation in Croatia from Mr. Paolo Berizzi, Head of Political, Economic, Trade and Press & Information Section of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Croatia (Venue: Croatian Parliament, Trg sv. Marka Zagreb, Interpretation: Chuchotage) Meeting with Members of the Committee on Gender Equality of the Croatian Parliament Sabor (list attached) (Venue: Croatian Parliament, Interpretation from booths) Meeting with Mr. Luka Bebić, Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Sabor (Venue: Croatian Parliament, Interpretation from booths) - 7 -

8 Meeting with Ms. Gordana Lukač-Koritnik, Ombudsperson for Gender Equality (Venue: Croatian Parliament, Interpretation from booths) Meeting with Ms. Vesna Pusić, Chairwoman of the National Committee on the supervision of the accession negotiations (Venue: Croatian Parliament, Interpretation from booths) Lunch in honour of the Delegation given by the Chairwoman of the Committee on Gender Equality, Ms. Gordana Sobol Departure by bus from the Croatian Parliament to the Ministry for Family, Veterans and Intergenerational Solidarity Meeting with Mr. Stjepan Adanić, State Secretary of Family, Veterans and Intergenerational Solidarity (Venue: Ministry for Family, Veterans and Intergenerational Solidarity, Trg hrvatskih velikana Zagreb, Interpretation: Chuchotage) Departure by bus from the Ministry for Family, Veterans and Intergenerational Solidarity to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Meeting with Mr. Andrej Plenković, State Secretary for European Affairs (Venue: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Trg N.Š. Zrinskog Zagreb, Interpretation: Chuchotage) Return by bus to the hotel Friday, 17 June Meeting in the hotel lobby and departure by bus to the Croatian Parliament Meeting with Ms. Helena Štimac Radin, Director of the Government s Office for Gender Equality, Ms. Tatijana Vučetić, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Tatjana Katkić Stanić, Director General of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and Ms. Dunja Skoko-Poljak, Head of the Department for Projects and Programs of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (Venue: Croatian Parliament, Interpretation from booths) Meeting with representatives of civil society and NGOs (list attached) (Venue: Croatian Parliament, Interpretation from booths) Return by bus to the hotel Afternoon Departure of the members of FEMM Delegation from Zagreb - 8 -

9 Annex II Chair: MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON GENDER EQUALITY OF THE CROATIAN PARLIAMENT Ms. Gordana Sobol (SDP- Social Democratic Party of Croatia) Deputy Chair: Ms. Karmela Caparin (HDZ- Croatian Democratic Union) Members: Ms. Vesna Buterin (HDZ - Croatian Democratic Union) Mr. Šimo Đurđević (HDZ- Croatian Democratic Union) Ms. Mirjana Ferić-Vac (SDP - Social Democratic Party of Croatia) Ms. Mirela Holy (SDP- Social Democratic Party of Croatia) Ms. Romana Jerković (SDP- Social Democratic Party of Croatia) Mr. Borislav Matković (HDZ- Croatian Democratic Union) Mr. Vedran Rožić (HDZ- Croatian Democratic Union) Ms. Đurđica Sumrak (HDZ- Croatian Democratic Union) Mr. Nevio Šetić (HDZ- Croatian Democratic Union) Ms. Vesna Škulić (SDP- Social Democratic Party of Croatia) Ms. Biserka Vranić (SDP- Social Democratic Party of Croatia) - 9 -

10 Annex III LIST OF NGOs MEETING WITH EP DELEGATION IN ZAGREB, CROATIA (16-17 JUNE, 2011) CESI Center for Education, Councelling and Research Gordana Obradović Sanja Cesar ), co-ordinators Nova cesta Zagreb, Croatia Tel: +385 (0) Fax: +385 (0) cesi@cesi.hr CESI is established on 8th March International Women's Day, in response to problems of the violation of human rights, in particular women's and minority rights, nationalism, militarisation, and the deterioration of economic standards in the postwar period. CESI advocates for improvement of position of women in society and achieving gender equality, as well as full implementation of all laws and international instruments for the protection of human rights. CESI objectives are Advocating for full realisation of women's human rights on the national, EU and international level Encouraging better efficiency in the implementation of public policies regarding gender equality and women's rights Inclusion and empowerment of women to participate in social, political and economic processes. Women s Room Maja Mamula, co-ordinator Women s Room Centre for Sexual Rights is a non-government, feminist, non-profit organisation, established aiming at empowering women and raising awareness of institutions and general public in issues of sexual violence and sexual rights, through education, research, lobbying and public works. The Women s Room provides direct and indirect help and support for victims of sexual violence. The vision of the Women s Room is a society free of patriarchy, discrimination, misogyny and gender violence, where individual choice is the fundamental value

11 Areas of work: Protection of human rights with an emphasis on women s human rights; Agenda against sexual violence: development of public policy and effective practice in working with victims of sexual violence, direct work with the victims, and development of preventive mechanisms and programmes; Promotion and protection of sexual rights pursuant to the Declaration of Sexual Rights, including the sexuality of women and sexual and gender minorities (LGBTIQ). Center for Civil Initiatives, Poreč Biserka Momčinović, co-ordinator Partizanska 2d, Poreč tel: +385 / 52 / ; +385 / 52 / fax:+385 / 52 / Center for civil initiatives (CCI) is a non-governmental, non-partisan and non-profit organization established in 1992 in order to assist development of civil society as a foundation of democracy in Istria. Priorities of CCI are: promotion of human and civil rights as necessary precondition of democratization of society; recognition and understanding of common and specific rights of women and development of equal conditions for participation of women at all levels of public, political and economic life; strengthening of local democracy, plural and multicultural society as a basis for development of the community according to needs of its citizens. Centre for Women's Studies (education, research, publishing) Rada Borić, director Dolac Zagreb, Croatia zenstud@zenstud.hr Tel./fax: The Centre for Women's Studies was founded in 1995 by a group of women theoreticians and scientists, feminists, peace activists and artists. The Centre has developed multi/inter/disciplinary studies and expertise on women's issues in Croatia and has become a place of academic discourse, activism and artistic practices. The mission of the Centre is to offer education in women's studies, work on rising

12 awareness of women in Croatia and promote research and publishing of women's studies topics. Also, the Centre's mission is to empower women in political and civil initiatives through different levels of education and to promote constructive peace and solidarity values, especially by way of international networking and women s studies programme exchange, mutual cultural and civil projects and direct support to women. Students and other participants through the Centre s programmes get motivation for critical thinking and develop awareness for the importance of women s topics and thus work on self-empowerment by taking responsibility for social change. Domine (women's political/economic empowerment, violence against women), Mirjana Kučer, co-ordinator Bosanska 4, Split, Croatia tel tel fax domine@inet.hr ''Domine'' is feminist, non-governmental, non-profitable organization, established in 2002 with a purpose of promoting women's rights and encouraging development of civil society. Organization's basic activities are education, video production, publishing, public campaigns and direct counselling and support. ''Domine'' acts regularly on: Economical and political women's empowerment Economical and political women's empowerment Advocacy of gender mainstreaming policies implementation and politics of equal opportunities Prevention of violence against women in all forms Promoting prevention of sexual and reproductive women's rights Direct legal, psychological and medical support to women Raising awareness of media responsibility regarding women's rights promotion Researching women's past/history of Split and Dalmatia Cooperation and networking with feminist and civil society organizations on local, national and international level Publishing and development of the first feminist library in Split and Dalmatia Media visibility of civil society Capacity strengthening of civil society organizations Cooperation of civil society organizations and local government units with a common goal of democracy promotion and the quality of life in society Stimulating of social entrepreneurship and self-financing

13 Better Future (rights of Roma women) Ramiza Memedi, co-ordinator Avenija M. Držića 4, Zagreb Phone: The organisation was founded after the identification of specific problems of Roma women within the Roma community, as they and their children are considered as its most threatened part. After several field researches it was concluded that the subjects of education, health and basic human rights are of fundamental interest to the Roma community, including especially young Roma persons. Activities of the Better Future are therefore focused on empowering and education of Roma women, especially young Roma women, with special emphasize on recruiting new activists who would be interested in work and education of and within the Roma community. LORI Lesbian Organization Rijeka Danijela Almesberger, co-ordinator Dolac 8, Rijeka Tel. 051/ , mob. 091/ Lesbian Organization Rijeka LORI was founded on 19th October The goal of the organization is the informing and rising of awareness of the public for the acceptance of LGBTIQ persons, eradicate prejudices and homo/bi/trans phobia, remove discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression as well as accomplish true equality in front of the law. Center for LGBT equality Marko Jurčić, co-ordinator web: fax: 01/ , 051/ Centre for LGBT Equality is an activist alliance working for lesbian, gay, bisexual

14 and transgender (LGBT) equal rights in Republic of Croatia. The alliance was formed by three largest LGBT organizations in Croatia - Lesbian organization Rijeka, Zagerb Pride and Queer Zagreb. They work on promoting and advocating for LGBT rights and LGBT legislation, including providing free legal and psycho-social support for LGBT persons and LGBTQ youth. Family Center, adress: Kaptol street 10, PP 579, Zagreb, Croatia familycenterzagreb@gmail.com phone: fax: Contact person: Marijo Zivkovic Family Center is NGO which purpose is promotion of successful family life. In that work they try to influence and educate young and adults in self respect, tolerance, respect of others and other qualities necessary for successful family life. Within the framework of it activities Family Center promotes gender equality, love and respect towards children, women s rights, personal dignity and value of each person. They do that with publishing, lectures in Croatia and internationally. From family point of view Family Center is involved in demographic debates. Parents' voice for children - GROZD adress: Zagrebačka cesta 190, Zagreb info@udruga-grozd.hr, phone: fax: Contact person: Ladislav Ilcic, chairman of the association Parents' association "Parents' voice for children - GROZD" - in its health educational programme was selected as the best bid among 24 programmes on the tender of Ministry of Science, Education and Sport - GROZD curriculum was prepared by 22 experts, and one of the very important part of the programme is gender equality - in "Parents' voice for children - GROZD" made an petition in which it gathered signatures for support of Croatian citizens for human rights from UDHR B.a.B.e. Be Active Be Emancipated Sanja Sarnavka, co-ordinator Selska cesta 112 a Zagreb

15 Tel Fax ; babe@babe.hr B.a.B.e. was founded in 1994 with the aim of promoting and protecting women s human rights. Today their work is focused on the promotion of gender equality and ensuring equal rights for all genders in all spheres of life. The organization has a reputation of being an expert center for the area of gender equality in Croatia