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Analysis of the Legal Framework Concerning Stateless Persons and Persons at Risk of Statelessness in Croatia/Analiza pravnog okvira koji se odnosi na osobe bez državljanstva i osobe izložene riziku bezdržavljanstva u Hrvatskoj

This study was commissioned by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and is an analysis of the Croatian legal framework concerning stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness. It was conducted in the wake of UNHCR’s #IBelong Campaign and the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness by 2024. The study aims to establish the level of Croatia’s adherence to its international obligations and jurisprudence relating to the protection of stateless persons. The Republic of Croatia (Croatia) is a party to both UN Conventions on statelessness – the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954 Convention) and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961 Convention). The study will assess how the Croatian legal framework is aligned with these international instruments. The study analyzed the Croatian Citizenship Act (CCA), as well as its amendments (passed in 2019 and in force since 1 January 2020), along with related by-laws, including several laws and by- laws which govern the status of foreigners, both at the European Union (EU) level and at the national level. Additionally, it was important to highlight the issues that emerged on 8 October 1991 when the CCA came into force and which are closely linked with statelessness. Administrative and court practices were, furthermore, surveyed in detail in order to examine their alignment with international standards. The analysis shows that, for the most part, the CCA is aligned with both UN Statelessness Conventions. However, in some instances, children whose parents lost Croatian nationality1 through release or renunciation could be at risk of statelessness. The analysis also discusses the situation of children born in the territory of Croatia who would otherwise become stateless, and the risk of statelessness in cases of release from Croatian nationality.The study has also ascertained that Croatian laws and by-laws do not perceive or protect stateless persons as a special vulnerable group. Their status is the same as any other foreigner. There is no special procedure aimed at identifying stateless persons, and identification is always carried out on a case-to-case basis, which makes identification and protection of stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness even more difficult. There are also issues with regulating the stay of stateless persons as it is often impossible for them to meet the required criteria for both temporary and permanent stay. They are then subject to discretionary decisions of the Ministry of the Interior on whether to grant them stay on humanitarian grounds as one of the modalities of temporary stay. The main problem the study identified is that statelessness is not perceived by the authorities as a sufficiently serious problem to require due attention and legislative changes. According to the official data, the number of people who are stateless or at risk of statelessness is under 100 and, therefore, the problem of statelessness does not officially exist. However, the figures from UNHCR and Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dealing with stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness differ significantly2 from the official data. The study has also shown that there is a need to enhance cooperation at the regional level. To this end, the role, structure and methods of the Sarajevo Process Working Group on Civil Documentation should be examined in order to further a regional initiative, which would firstly identify and address the regional aspects of the provision of civil documentation, registration and the risk of statelessness and develop benchmarks to assess progress. Moreover, it is important to conduct awareness raising activities amongst potential target groups and States where there is a need to cooperate and exchange information. Adequate, accelerated and facilitated procedures to assist relevant authorities with civil documentation and registration should be established and reciprocal recognition of documents should be encouraged by the States.The following recommendations to the Government of Croatia are based on the findings of the study: 1 Establish and implement statelessness determination procedure to allow for the identification and the protection of stateless persons ; 2 Croatia should encourage the competent authorities to introduce policy documents, the exclusive goal of which would be to combat statelessness ; 3 Amend the Foreigners Actin such a manner that the status of stateless persons is clearly prescribed. More specifically: a) Include stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness as a vulnerable group of foreigners ; b) Prescribe that stateless persons do not require a valid travel document in order to regulate their stay ; c) Facilitate the procedure for approving temporary and permanent stay for stateless persons ; 4 Amend the CCA to: Remove the possibility that persons can become stateless: a) article 19 should be amended in such a way as to remove the deadline in which a person who has lost Croatian nationality through release needs to notify Croatian authorities that he or she has failed to acquire foreign nationality ; b) articles 20 and 22 should be amended to contain safeguards against statelessness for children when their parents loose Croatian nationality by release or renunciation ; Facilitate naturalization for stateless persons, for example by: c) exempting them from the rule that permanent stay is required ; d) shortening the residence time needed for naturalization in Croatia ; e) Prescribing special conditions for stateless children who were not born in Croatia and have no legal representatives as, according to national law, they are not eligible for naturalization, in their own right, until they turn 18. f) To clearly prescribe that all children born or found on the territory of Croatia acquire Croatian nationality if they would otherwise become stateless (new para. 2 of Article 7), although this should be derived from the meaning of the now in force Article 7 in conjunction with Article 5, para. 2 of the CCA ; 5 Initiate discussion regarding the ratification of the European Convention on Nationality. 6 Enhance regional cooperation through: a) Examining the role, structure and methods of the Sarajevo Process Working Group on Civil Documentation to identify and address regional aspects of provision of civil documentation, registration and the risk of statelessness and develop benchmarks to address progress ; b) Conducting awareness raising activities amongst potential target groups and stakeholders, c) Establishment of adequate, accelerated and facilitated procedures to assist civil documentation and registration and reciprocal recognition of documents encouraged and, d) Strengthen cooperation with relevant institutions outside the region to overcome issues related to the identification and documentation of persons originating from the region.

statelessness, nationality

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