This text focuses on individuals who dedicate their time and energy to the fight for human rights. They are human rights defenders, although the public does not always recognize or refer to them as such.

Who Are Human Rights Defenders
The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders defines them as individuals who work to promote and protect human rights, recognize the universality of human rights for all, and act peacefully. They help build just societies based on the rule of law.

Human rights defenders can be individuals of any profession and employment status, most often activists, lawyers, journalists, whistleblowers, civil society organizations, or national human rights institutions (in Croatia, this is the Office of the Ombudswoman).

However, even if someone is highly active in defending certain rights, they will not be considered true human rights defenders if they simultaneously deny the existence of other rights or the rights of specific vulnerable groups.

What Human Rights Defenders Do
The activities of human rights defenders vary and can take place at the local, national, and international levels, depending largely on the context in which they live and work.

Their work may include:

  • collecting and disseminating information on human rights violations,
  • supporting victims of human rights violations,
  • advocating for accountability for human rights violations,
  • advocating for good governance and human rights-focused policies,
  • promoting the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and other international treaties,
  • educating others about human rights,
  • organizing peaceful activities to prevent potential human rights violations before they occur.

Recognition of the Importance of Human Rights Defenders by the UN, the European Union, and the Council of Europe
As early as 1998, the UN adopted the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which contains a set of principles and rights based on international human rights instruments, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. According to the Declaration, states are obligated to ensure a safe environment for the unhindered and effective work of human rights defenders.

The UN Human Rights Council and the General Assembly have adopted numerous resolutions concerning the status and protection of human rights defenders. In 2000, the UN established the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. This role covers all individuals defending human rights but focuses on those who, due to their peaceful work for the rights of others, are at great personal risk. In 2022, the UN also established the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders, addressing situations where individuals face immediate threats of punishment, persecution, or harassment when attempting to exercise rights under the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (the Aarhus Convention).

Within the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers adopted the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders in 2008. Their protection also falls under the mandate of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.

The definition of human rights defenders from the Declaration is also used by the European Union, which recognizes their importance for democracy, the rule of law, and the prevention of rights violations. The EU adopted Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders in 2004, updated in 2008. Furthermore, the EU founding and operational treaties emphasize the importance of civil society—as human rights defenders—in ensuring good governance within the Union.

Recently adopted public policies at the EU level highlight the crucial role and importance of a free and active civil society in promoting the fundamental rights of EU citizens. These include the EU Strategy to Strengthen the Application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as EU action plans in areas such as combating racism, Roma inclusion, migrant integration, children’s rights, women’s rights, the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons, and persons with disabilities. The European Commission regularly underscores the importance of civil society organizations’ work as human rights defenders and their role in safeguarding the rule of law in its Rule of Law Reports.

The Conditions in Which Human Rights Defenders Operate in Croatia
The Ombudswoman reports to the Croatian Parliament on the conditions under which human rights defenders operate in Croatia, in a dedicated chapter of her annual reports. These reports also provide analysis of freedom of expression, hate speech, media freedom, and the right to public assembly—topics that are particularly relevant in this context.

In the 2023 Report, the Ombudswoman recommended that the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopt a National Plan for Creating an Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development. She also recommended that the Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities introduce long-term institutional and programmatic funding for civil society organizations working in the areas of human rights protection and combating discrimination.

Civil society organizations face several challenges, including the absence of public policy for creating a favorable environment for their development (the last national strategic document expired in 2016) and the insufficient functionality of the institutional framework for civil society development, especially the Council for the Development of Civil Society. They also highlight insufficient funding—particularly for activities like advocacy and monitoring of human rights and discrimination—and related difficulties in maintaining operational continuity and a qualified workforce. Additional issues include delays in issuing calls for proposals and disbursing funds, as well as the definition of eligible activities in certain calls that often do not reflect actual needs on the ground. Organizations operating in Sisak-Moslavina County continue to report that the consequences of the earthquake still affect their work.

Civil society organizations also report that participation in working groups and public consultations is often more a formal opportunity to participate in policy-making than a chance to contribute substantively, and that their inputs are insufficiently considered.

Some organizations report receiving insults and defamatory messages via social media or private messages sent to their staff, including threats. Individuals who attempt to intimidate human rights defenders in this way are often emboldened by the fact that illegal comments on social media and news portals are rarely sanctioned, which sometimes leads to further harassment in the offline world and may even escalate to physical attacks.

Not all civil society organizations and their staff are equally exposed to attacks and pressure. Depending on the issues they address, they face different challenges related to whether their work—either direct or advocacy-related—is enabled or hindered.

Civil society organizations working in the field of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment report violations of the right to access information, challenges in public participation in regulatory processes, and access to justice in environmental matters under the Aarhus Convention, as well as exposure to SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) suits. Most organizations are also denied access to reception centers for asylum seekers, except occasionally when attending hearings. They also lack regular access to detention centers for foreigners, despite providing free legal aid.

Journalists also face SLAPP suits, which can have a particularly harmful impact on non-profit, small, or local media outlets for whom a ruling that requires financial compensation to plaintiffs may result in closure. Journalists are sometimes victims of criminal acts—within the Safe Journalists project, the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) documented 11 attacks and threats in 2023, including two death threats and threats of grievous bodily harm, two physical attacks, and seven other types of threats. Additionally, HND records other forms of pressure on journalists and media and warns of the lack of condemnation from high-ranking officials. The introduction of a new criminal offense—Unauthorized Disclosure of Content from Investigative or Evidentiary Actions—with prison sentences of up to three years for specified individuals who unlawfully disclose such content to the public, has been perceived by the journalism profession as a threat to media freedom and the right to information, and an attack on the public interest.

Finally, considering that the Office of the Ombudswoman is also a human rights defender institution, it is important to note that the European Commission has again, for the third consecutive year, issued a recommendation to the Republic of Croatia concerning the Office. One of the four recommendations made to Croatia includes: “to further improve the implementation of recommendations and respond more systematically to the Ombudswoman’s requests for information.”

A significant issue related to ensuring conditions for the effective work of the Ombudswoman—as an independent national human rights institution—is the delay in discussing her reports in the Croatian Parliament. Although the Ombudswoman has already begun preparing the 2024 Report, the Parliament has yet to discuss even the previous two annual reports, for 2022 and 2023, or the special report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on human rights and equality. Furthermore, the Government has not yet submitted its opinion on the 2023 Report to the Parliament, making a parliamentary debate on the matter currently impossible. This certainly cannot be regarded as ensuring the conditions for the effective work of the Commissioner of the Croatian Parliament for the protection and promotion of human rights, as the Ombudswoman is defined by the Constitution—as a human rights defender institution in Croatia.

More about human rights defenders can be found in the Ombudswoman’s 2023 Annual Report.