Report on the Performance of Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism for 2017 II. CONCLUSION In 2017, no instances of treatment that might constitute torture have been detected; however, we have detected those that potentially constitutes inhuman or degrading treatment as well as breach of constitutional and legal rights of persons deprived of liberty and those with limited freedom of movement. What is especially worrying is the fact that most of the detected problems have already been raised before, including normative shortcomings, inconsistent treatment, lack of compliance of accommodation conditions with legal and international standards, insufficient officials’ awareness of human rights and lack of material and human resources. These problems are present within every system for which the National Preventive Mechanism is competent. In addition, the prison system should improve health care services provided to prisoners by including them in the public healthcare network and by using state budget funds to cover supplementary health insurance for prisoners who meet the requirements. In addition, it is necessary to thoroughly investigate allegations pertaining to torture and inhuman or degrading treatment as well as those regarding use of excessive force or verbal abuse, which is not being done at the moment. Apart from introducing civil supervision over police activities, it is necessary that the Police Headquarters ensure up-to-date assessment of justification and lawfulness of usage of means of coercion and that the Ministry of Interior and State Attorney’s Office conduct ex officio efficient investigations of allegations regarding potential occurrences of police harassment. A number of persons with mental disorders are still required to pay one part of treatment expenses during their involuntary hospitalization, despite the fact they are unable to freely leave the institution. Such expenses should be financed by the State budget. In addition, it is extremely important that psychiatric institutions establish and duly keep records on the usage of means of coercion as well as on the treatment of persons subject to such measures. Social welfare system does not regulate either the accommodation of persons in departments of homes for elderly and infirm that cannot leave of their own accord or the types and methods of usage of safety measures within such departments. Application of coercion measures in this type of institutions must be aligned with the Act on Protection of Persons with Mental Disorders. Croatia has still not drafted a new migration policy, and it is necessary to promptly proceed to its preparation, at the same time ensuring it includes all aspects of contemporary mixed movements, especially integration. It is important, pursuant to applicable regulations and international conventions, to ensure access to international protection for all migrants present on the territory of the Republic of Croatia, as well as to provide them with minimum information on their rights in the language they understand when reaching decisions on return or deportation. All of the foregoing is contained in a total of 33 NPM recommendations specified in this Report. Their implementation would raise the level of human rights protection for persons deprived of liberty and those with limited freedom of movement as well as the level of rule of law in Croatia, in accordance with the national regulations and international conventions that our country has undertaken to abide by. 51