The European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, said on Tuesday that she had launched an inquiry at the request of human rights organisation Amnesty International into the European Commission's (EC) response to reports of Croatia's mistreatment of illegal migrants, and the Commission's failure to establish a supervisory mechanism which would ensure basic human rights for migrants.
The inquiry focuses on what the EC is doing to make sure Croatian authorities respect basic human rights in their border protection operations, the Ombudsman said in a press release.
The Human rights watchdog Amnesty International (AI) and media outlets have been expressing concern for some time about violations of human rights in the treatment of migrants on the Croatian border, allegations which the Croatian authorities have resolutely dismissed.
According to the ombudsman’s statement, Croatia should establish a supervisory mechanism in the context of European funds it has been receiving for border operations to make sure its work on protecting its border is in line with basic EU rights and laws.
AI doubts there exists such a mechanism and claims that the EC has not confirmed that Croatian authorities have established such a mechanism or investigated how the allocated funds were spent.
The EC gave Croatia money for the supervisory mechanism in 2018, envisaging participation in it by civil society organisations and the country’s public ombudsman.
Members of the European Parliament from the European Green Party, who sit on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs have said this year that there is no such mechanism because there is no access to the green border, border police or their documents.
The Guardian reported in June that the EC had concealed from members of the European Parliament that the Croatian government did not spend the money allocated for the supervision of border police.
The EC has until January 31, 2021 to answer a number of questions by the European Ombudsman on the supervisory mechanism and ways the EU’s exective authority has determined that it has actually been established.
The EC will also have to say how it guarantees that basic human rights are respected on the Croatian border.
Amnesty International has welcomed the launching of the inquiry.
“Over the years, Amnesty and other organisations have documented numerous violations, including beatings and torture of migrants and asylum-seekers by Croatian police, whose salaries may have been paid for by EU funds,” AI’s European institutions director Eve Geddie said.
She described the launching of the inquiry “a significant first step” towards addressing allegations of human rights violations.
“By continuing to fund border operations and giving a green light for Croatia’s accession to the Schengen area, the commission abdicated its responsibilities to monitor how EU assistance is used and sent a dangerous signal that blatant human rights violations can continue with no questions asked,” Amnesty International said.
