Croatian government does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so, the US State Department said in their 2019 report on trafficking in humans, published on Friday.

“The government demonstrated increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period… (including) investigating, prosecuting, and convicting more traffickers and identifying more victims, particularly victims of forced criminality,” the State Department said, adding the government had also increased funding to NGO-run shelters, and adopted a national action plan for the period of 2018 to 2021.

However, some minimum standards remained unmet, such as consistent screening of migrants and asylum seekers, while allegations of police abuse “strongly discouraged victims from cooperating or self-identifying.”

The judiciary failed to take victim testimonies as reliable “due to a lack of understanding of trafficking,” while a large backlog of cases caused long delays in proceedings.

Tier placements

The report covers 187 countries and places each in one of four tiers, based on the efforts the governments make to meet standards in attempts to eliminate human trafficking.

Croatia was placed in Tier 2, with countries which do not fully meet the minimum standards, but are making significant strides to bring them in line with recommendations.

Out of the countries in the region, only Slovenia was placed in the highest ranking, Tier 1, with countries that fully meet the minimum standards. Serbia ranked in Tier 2, while Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, and Montenegro were placed in the Tier 2’s Watch List, along with countries which did not show any serious effort compared to previous report and should be closely monitored.

Recommendations for Croatia

The report issued a series of prioritised recommendations for Croatia, including the need to “institutionalise and implement screening procedures for migrant flows, including asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors,” train judges to understand secondary trauma and the severity of trafficking, as well as to do more to encourage victims’ participation in investigations and prosecutions.

Croatia is also advised to improve screening procedures for vulnerable populations, including migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, seasonal workers, and Roma.