The Council for Human Rights is an advisory body that proposes strategic guidelines to the Ombudswoman in the field of the promotion of human rights and freedoms, and strengthens the institution’s cooperation with civil society, academia, and the media. It meets at least twice a year and, in addition to the above-mentioned tasks, also discusses analytical and research work and proposes guidelines for strengthening the visibility and recognition of the institution.
The Council is composed of eight members: two representatives each from civil society organizations, the academic community, the media, and national minorities, selected through a public call. The Council was established on 18 November 2013 with a four-year mandate, which has since expired. Therefore, the Ombudswoman will issue a new public call for applications for new members by the end of 2017, which will be published on the homepage of the website.
The members of the first Council were:
- Đordana Barbarić, president of the association MoSt – an organization that combats social exclusion of vulnerable groups, especially youth and the homeless
- Prof. Enes Kulenović, PhD, assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Science, lecturer in Human Rights Policy
- Mira Lulić, PhD, head of the Department of International Law and director of the Postgraduate Specialist Programme in Human Rights at the Faculty of Law in Osijek
- Dragutin Lučić, MSc, journalist and editor, former president of the Croatian Journalists’ Association
- Darko Markušić, journalist and editor
- Ljubo Manojlović, executive director of the Serbian Democratic Forum
- Amina Nanić, mag. iur., author of the book “Minorities in Law – The Constitutional and Legal Status of National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia with Special Focus on Bosniaks”
- Ivan Novosel, programme director of the Human Rights House Zagreb