On 3 December 2020, the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) published a report on Croatia focusing on victims´ access to justice and effective remedies. GRETA acknowledges steps taken, since its previous report on Croatia published in 2016, to develop the legislative and policy framework relevant to action against trafficking in human beings.

Nevertheless, GRETA urged the Croatian authorities to take additional steps to ensure that all victims of trafficking are identified as such and can benefit from the assistance and protection measures contained in the Convention, including increasing the training provided to border police officers and staff working in facilities for asylum seekers and migrants to enable them to identify victims of trafficking.

GRETA also urged the authorities to systematically inform all asylum seekers, in a language they can understand, about their rights in the framework of the asylum procedure, the legal rights and the services available to victims of trafficking and to ensure that pre-removal risk assessments prior to all forced removals from Croatia fully assess risks of trafficking or re-trafficking on return, in compliance with the obligation of non-refoulement. In this respect, reference is made to GRETA’s Guidance note on the entitlement of victims of trafficking, and persons at risk of being trafficked, to international protection.

Further, GRETA urged the Croatian authorities to institutionalise and implement procedures for screening unaccompanied children for trafficking in human beings’ indicators and train all professionals working with child victims of trafficking to recognise and respond appropriately to their needs.

Finally, GRETA considered that the Croatian authorities should ensure that guardianship services are offered consistently by specially trained staff, that interpretation is provided for guardianship services, in particular for unaccompanied migrant children, provide regular training for guardians on human trafficking, and ensure that sufficient long-term funding is maintained to enable specialised NGOs to carry out outreach work to detect and assist child victims.