The visit was aimed at getting the delegation from Kosovo better acquainted with the hate crime monitoring system in the Republic of Croatia and the role of the various national institutions within it.

From 10 to 14 October 2022 our institution hosted the representatives of the Ombudsman institution of the Republic of Kosovo, the Government of Kosovo’s Office of Good Governance and the OSCE’s Mission in Kosovo.

The guests were introduced to the work of the ombudsman institutions in the Republic of Croatia in the area of monitoring and combatting hate crimes and hate speech and visited the relevant institutions – the Government Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of the Judiciary and Public Administration and the State Attorney’s Office. The institutions provided them with the information on the normative framework regulating hate crimes and hate speech in the Republic of Croatia and the functioning of the existing monitoring mechanism and its working group, whose members include advisors to the Ombudswoman.

On the last day of the visit members of the delegation met with the representatives of the civil society organizations, who shared their experiences of their work in this area but also the experiences with hate crimes and hate speech of the members of the vulnerable groups that they work with and which turn to them for assistance.