Report on the Performance of Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism for 2017
procedures for determining the best interest of the child and their protection from potential human
trafficking. The MoI was warned about this in June 2017 and we were informed that they proceeded
accordingly and warned the police administration about consistent implementation of the Protocol on
Treatment of Separated Children – Foreign Nationals.
Additionally, because the new Tovarnik Police Station was under construction, the entire procedure was
taking place in replacement, unfit premises on a road crossing. Migrants were kept in a police vehicle
in front of the station for a few hours, without direct access to drinking water and toilet, which is contrary
to CPT standards on the treatment of detained and apprehended persons. Also, a random selection of
video recordings at the Tovarnik Police Station showed that persons who were brought there and who
were processed did not even enter the station building, but were kept in a police vehicle the entire time,
and after the completion of the procedure were not released, but taken away in the same vehicle. Such
detention, discussed in more detail in the chapter on police treatment, may be seen as degrading
treatment.
Also, migrants with no identification and travel documents, whose countries of origin have no diplomatic
and consular missions in the RC where they could obtain necessary documentation on the basis of the
issued return decisions, cannot legally leave the territory of the RC. It can therefore be concluded that
there is no intention to solve the key issue, but that these are intentionally issued as formal legal acts.
Namely, in the given situations, issuing a return decision is not useful nor it includes voluntary elements
if activities foreseen by Article 121 of the FA are not
taken. The Article foresees that the MoI can, in
order to encourage voluntary returns, make
agreements, obtain travel documents and travel
tickets and make financial payments in order to
enable
and
encourage
voluntary
returns.
Implementation of these actions and imposing less
coercive measures provided for in the FA, as well
as
providing
accommodation,
at
least
According to the records of the Ministry of
the Interior, on the basis of 3,107 issued
return decisions only 1,025 persons legally
left the Republic of Croatia, which does not
contribute to the protection of their rights, let
alone the protection of security and Croatian
national interests, which the Ministry of the
Interior constantly calls for.
for
vulnerable groups, would greatly contribute to the protection of migrants' rights, but also ensure
enforceability of the decision.
Also, when a return decision is issued within the described, so-called summary procedure, it does not
take into consideration the provision of the APA according to which the ministries, within their scope of
activity, supervise how administrative matters are solved and ensure the legality, effectiveness and
purposefulness of the administrative procedure. That is, since decisions that cannot be performed in a
legally envisaged way are being issued, the given procedure is contrary to the principle put forward by
the APA.
The explanation given by the MoI on the change of approach before and after 15 February refers to
the necessity for migrants to show where they crossed the state border, so that future irregular entries
could be prevented. However, due to the manner and circumstances under which they cross the border,
it is not likely that they would be able to show precisely where they crossed it, and besides, the files did
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