The Office of the Ombudswoman states that their reports are public and available to everyone, and their purpose is to strengthen democratic institutions in Croatia. Narod.hr has sent inquiries to Croatian government bodies regarding SNV funding.
After Russia and Belarus, in an extensive joint report on the state of human rights totaling 2,000 pages, also criticized Croatia, the Croatian Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter found herself in the spotlight. In that document, Croatia was allocated 20 pages, and sources for claims about the "difficult situation" of Serbs and "attacks" on that community included, among others, reports from the Serb National Council (SNV) and the Ombudswoman herself.
The SNV, whose reports also served as source material for Russia and Belarus, is funded from the state budget through the Council for National Minorities and the Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. Narod.hr has sent inquiries to these bodies asking whether they will reconsider SNV funding in light of the Russian report, but their responses were not available at the time of publication.
The Office of the Ombudswoman rejects the notion that one should remain silent about problems in human rights protection for fear that other countries might exploit them. "It would be wrong to argue that we should not speak publicly about problems in human rights protection because someone might try to use them for their own purposes," the Office stated to Narod.hr.
The Ombudswoman emphasizes that their reports are public documents that they are legally obligated to submit to the Croatian Parliament and make available to the public. Therefore, they can be used by all stakeholders, including government agencies, media, international organizations, universities, and other countries, in various ways and for various purposes.
They stress that pointing out challenges and shortcomings in human rights protection is a fundamental task of "independent human rights institutions" in democratic states. They emphasize that human rights protection is based on international norms, and many international institutions, such as the EU, the Council of Europe, and the UN, report on and assess this situation.
Commenting on the Russia-Belarus document, the Office notes that it is the third joint report by the foreign ministries of the two countries. In addition to the Ombudswoman's reports, it relies on various documents from the EU, the Council of Europe, the UN, and other sources. However, they point out that it is not a report by an international organization, does not apply internationally recognized methodology, and does not serve the same purpose as reports by independent human rights bodies.
Finally, the Office emphasizes that their reports "do not represent an overall assessment of the Republic of Croatia, its citizens, or state institutions as a whole," but rather an analysis of the state of human rights protection in specific areas, while also highlighting positive developments and examples of good practice. The purpose of the reports, they say, is "to contribute to strengthening human rights protection, the rule of law, and democratic institutions in Croatia."
