Report on the Performance of Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism for 2015
blankets, sleeping mats, raincoats, clothes and footwear, but at times there was a shortage of
blankets, sleeping mats and warm and dry clothes and footwear. Also, during the first few days
there was a shortage of volunteers during night shifts. Infrastructural interventions, such as
construction of paths, erecting of tents and alike, were the responsibility of the Croatian Army.
Although the refugees stayed there for 24 hours at most, Opatovac Camp was not adequately
prepared for cold weather and rainy conditions. On the floors of some tents there were pallets,
while in others there were only plastic tarps; there were no beds or heating so during rainy
weather refugees often sat and slept in the cold and mud. There was a Family Unification
Service and Service for Psychosocial Help available at the Camp, but during our visits we did not
actually see psychosocial help being provided. In each sector there were many chemical toilets,
and in some sectors there were also CRC tents where one could get food and clothes. In one
part of the Camp there were separate men’s and women’s tents with showers.
The opening of the Transit Centre in SB resolved most of the problems identified by that time.
Organization of the new camp represented great improvement when compared to the
Opatovac Camp, due to the new camp’s size, availability of heated facilities, better organization
of state bodies and civil society organizations and available organized transport. In each of the
sectors there was a special area where there was a container for dispensing of food and clothes,
for providing of medical assistance (although there were no employees of the Ministry of Health
there at the time of the visits) and for support to families with small children. In each sector
there were sanitary containers, toilets and showers marked by labels “Men/Women”, tents for
prayer, place for charging mobile phones, wireless internet and waste bins. The ground was
covered with gravel so there was no mud during bad weather. In the Transit Centre in SB
refugees spent six hours on average, so despite the fact that automatic operation and efficiency
of transit was commendatory, the prioritization of transport was nevertheless often at the
expense of individual needs of those people, especially vulnerable groups.
In both camps, cleaning took place by public works. Chemical toilets and showers were regularly
maintained, sectors were thoroughly cleaned after each departure and the quality of their
maintenance is evident from the fact that there were no contagious diseases.
Registration
Pursuant to the Dublin Regulation, all applicants for international protection and irregular
migrants who have crossed the border without authorization have to get registered, i.e. their
fingerprints have to be taken for the EURODAC database. However, countries that were faced
with a large number of arriving refugees diverged from those legal frameworks, so in December
the EC issued a formal warning to the Republic of Croatia and other member states due to
incorrect implementation of the EURODAC Regulation during registration.
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