On 9 and 10 September the Council of Europe’s Division on Migration and Refugees and Department for the Execution of ECHR Judgments, carried out a joint mission to Croatia, with the support of the Government Agent of Croatia before the European Court. The visit focused on developments concerning the monitoring of borders, especially through the Independent Border Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) and the protection of unaccompanied and accompanied migrant children.  

The IMM was established in June 2021, in cooperation with the European Union Commission and national experts, as the first such mechanism in Europe to oversee the actions of border police related to illegal migration and international protection. 

The mission was the opportunity to collect information and exchange views with a number of national and international stakeholders on the development and planned measures to further enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the IMM. Discussions also addressed issues concerning measures taken to further reinforce the protection of accompanied and unaccompanied migrant children in the country, including in the context of asylum procedures. In this context, the Division on Migration and Refugees visited the Kutina reception centre for asylum seekers and the recently established One Stop Shop for Refugees and Foreign Workers in the city of Zagreb.

Meetings were held with the IMM, the Ministry of the Interior, the State Attorney’s Office, the Ombudswoman, the Office of the Ombudswoman for Children, and the Ministry of Social Policy. Useful exchanges also took place with representatives of civil society and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Croatia.