Paragraph 1.

• Narrative

From the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Administration:

The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and the Constitutional Act on Human Rights and Freedoms and the Rights of Ethnic and National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia safeguard, in addition to other human and civil rights, special rights of persons belonging to national minorities in the territory of the Republic of Croatia; however, some forms of the exercise of minority rights were institutionalized only with the passage of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia. This primarily relates to the mechanisms for ensuring an adequate representation of minorities in the representation bodies of the units of local self-government of the Croatian State Parliament; before these mechanisms were in place, minority representation in the representation bodies was ensured through informal channels, i.e., political references.

Furthermore, members of national minorities are guaranteed the right to cultural autonomy which implies the presentation of their characteristic values in the field of culture and the media, as well as the right to education in their own language, free use of their language in private and public life, and the official use of minority languages under some circumstances.

The Republic of Croatia has also been attempting to define the status of national minorities though bilateral agreements. Such agreements have so far been concluded with Italy and Hungary and have been ratified. Negotiations are underway with other countries whose national minorities have traditionally lived in the Republic of Croatia

As regards religious communities, all are separate from the state and act independently. Neither the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia nor the Constitutional Act on Human Rights and Freedoms and the Rights of Ethnic and National Communities or Minorities in the Republic of Croatia associate any one religious denomination with any one ethnic group.

From the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture:

The Ministry of Culture is responsible for designing and enforcing a cultural policy in the Republic of Croatia, involving both the legislative and the legal professional aspects.

Laws regulating cultural affairs put members of national minorities on a par with all other citizens of the Republic of Croatia, and thus do not include any provisions specifically pertaining to national minorities.

From the jurisdiction of the Office for National Minorities of the Government of the Republic of Croatia:

In compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, the Constitutional Act on Human Rights and Freedoms and the Rights of Ethnic and National Communities or Minorities in the Republic of Croatia and the country's entire legislation, the Republic of Croatia creates the conditions for the members of national minorities to exercise their rights and ensures the protection and the development of their cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic identity.

Religious communities are equal and separated from the state. Religious communities are free and are not enumerated in the legislation.

• Legal

From the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia:

Article 12.

"The Croatian language and the Latin script shall be in official use in the Republic of Croatia.

In specific local units, another language and the Cyrillic or some other script may, along with the Croatian language and the Latin script, be introduced into official use, under conditions specified by the law."

Article 14.

"Every person and citizen in the Republic of Croatia shall enjoy all rights and freedoms, regardless of his or her race, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other creed, national or social origin, property, birth, education, social status or other properties.

All shall be equal before the law."

Article 15.

"Members of all national minorities in the Republic of Croatia shall enjoy equal rights.

Members of national minorities are guaranteed freedom of expression of their national identity, freedom to use their own language and script, and cultural autonomy."

Article 26.

"All citizens and aliens shall be equal before the courts, government bodies and other bodies vested with public authority."

Article 39.

"Any call for or incitement to war or the use of violence, to racial or religious hatred, or any other form of intolerance shall be prohibited and punishable."

Article 40.

"Freedom of conscience and religion and a free public expression of religious or other creed shall be guaranteed."

Article 41.

"All religious communities shall be equal before the law and separated from the state.

Religious communities shall be free, in conformity with the law, to publicly perform religious services, set up schools, teaching establishments and other institutions, social and charitable institutions and to manage them, and shall in their activities enjoy the protection and assistance of the state."

From the Constitutional Law on Human Rights and Freedoms and the Rights of Ethnic and National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia:

Article 3.

"The Republic of Croatia protects the equality of national and ethnic groups or minorities and encourages their universal development."

Article 4.

"The Republic of Croatia shall assist the development of relations between national and ethnic communities or minorities with the nationality of their parent country in order to promote their national, cultural and language development.

Ethnic and national communities or minorities have the right to self organization and association in order to realize their national pr other rights in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and the present Law."

Article 5.

"Ethnic and national communities or minorities in the Republic of Croatia are entitled to cultural autonomy (Article 15. of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia).”

Article 6.

"The Republic of Croatia undertakes to ensure for members of all ethnic and national communities and minorities:

a) full observance of the principles of non-descrimination as defined by international instruments in Article 1 of this Law,
b) the right to protection from any activity that may or could threaten their survival;
c) the right to identity, culture, religion, public and private use of their language and script, and to education;
d) the protection of equality in participating in the public life, such as the right to political and economic freedoms in the social sphere, access to media, and in the field of education and cultural matters in general;
e) the right to decide to which ethnic and national community or minority a citizen wishes to belong, and to exercise all the rights associated with this choice, either individually or in association with other persons. This right particularly refers to cases of marriage between members of different ethnic or national communities or minorities, without any damage to the persons involved."

Article 7.

"Members of all ethnic and national communities or minorities in the Republic of Croatia are entitled to the free use of their language and script, both publicly and privately.

In those municipalities in which members of a national or ethnic community or minority represent the majority of the local population, the language and script of that ethnic and national community or minority shall be officially used parallel to the Croatian language and the Latin script."

Article 8.

"Local self-government units may provide for the official use of two or more languages and scripts taking into account the number of members and the interests of ethnic and national communities or minorities."

Article 9.

"Possession and use of national or ethnic emblems and symbols of national or ethnic communities or minorities shall be free.

Parallel to the official use of emblems and symbols of a particular national and ethnic community or minority, the use of appropriate emblems and symbols of the Republic of Croatia is mandatory.

Prior to the playing of the anthem or a solemn song of a particular national and ethnic community or minority, the national anthem of the Republic of Croatia shall inevitably be played.

The statute of the local self-government units may regulate the way in which the national flag and symbols of national and ethnic communities or minorities are to be used."

Article 20.

"In order to apply the provisions of the present Law on the Rights of Ethnic and National Communities or Minorities into the culture, education, access to public media and the implementation of their proportional representation in public services and other institutions in these areas, the Government of Croatia has an Office for Inter-Ethnic relations.

For the territory of one or more municipalities in which the number of members of national or ethnic communities or minorities and their interests require so, the Government of the Republic of Croatia will establish a regional Office for Inter-Ethnic Relations.”

From the Jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture:

1997 and 1998 saw the passage of a few laws in the field of culture, including the Act on Libraries, the Act on Archives, the Act on Changes and Amendments to the Act on Theatres, and the Act on Museums.

These laws regulate the issues pertaining to the setting up and the structure of cultural institutions, both public and private, and the way they should operate. Under the provisions of these laws, members of national minorities may establish cultural institutions of interest to them in order to realize their cultural autonomy and express their national and cultural identity.

From the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labour and Welfare:

Article 3 of the Act on Public Holidays, Memorial Days and Non-working Days in the Republic of Croatia (Official Gazette, 33/96) provides that citizens of Croatia who celebrate Christmas in January 7, citizens of the Islamic religion on the days of Ramadan Bajram and Kurban Bajram, and citizens of the Jewish religion on the days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are entitled to the day off from work. Article 5 of the same Act provides that the employees are entitled to pay for those days.

The cited legal provisions enable members of different national minorities with different religious affiliations to the to the day off from work not only on public holidays in the Republic of Croatia but also on the days of special religious holidays which they celebrate in keeping with their tradition and cultural heritage.

• State infrastructure

From the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Administration:

The rights of national minorities guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and the Constitutional Law on the Rights and Freedoms of Ethnic and National Communities or Minorities in Croatia can, under all conditions, be protected by filing a constitutional suit before the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia.

The Republic of Croatia does not support a state religion, since all religious communities are separate from the state. Relations with individual religious communities are regulated at the state level by agreements which regulate certain matters by consent.

As regards the official language, it is pointed out that only one official language is used in the territory of the state. However, Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and Articles 7 and 8 of the Constitutional Law on Human Rights and Freedoms and the Rights of Ethnic and National Communities or Minorities in the Republic of Croatia opens the possibility for a minority language or script to be introduced as the official language in a given local self-government unit. Article 7 of the Constitutional Law on Human Rights and Freedoms and the Rights of Ethnic and National Communities or Minorities provides that when members of a minority represent the majority in a given local self-government unit, the minority language and script will be the official language and script in that local self-government unit, alongside and in addition to the Croatian language and the Latin script. When members of a minority do not represent the majority of the population in the territory of a local self-government unit, the unit will decide by its statute whether or not the minority language will also be introduced in official use.

From the jurisdiction of the Office for National Minorities of the Government of the Republic of Croatia

For a detailed account see Article 8. - Policy.

• Policy

Persons belonging to national minorities are ensured the preservation and development of their national, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, religious and other identities either individually or collectively with other citizens, through the authorised institutions of the system, and the co-financing of cultural programmes of various non-governmental agencies and institutions, in order to ensure protection against assimilation.

From the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture:

In the course of this year, the Ministry of Culture drafted the Bill on the detection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage, which should replace the existing Law on the Protection of Cultural Monuments (Official Gazette - 7/67, 13/67, 47/86, 47/89, 19/91. and 49/92.). The passage of this law will create more favourable conditions for the better protection and preservation of the cultural values in their entirety, which also includes the cultural heritage of the national minorities in the Republic of Croatia. The Bill envisages the protection of both material and non-material cultural resources - folk music and popular creative art in the field of dance, narratives, games, rituals, customs and other traditional folk values, traditional arts and crafts, language, dialects and vernaculars and orally-transmitted literature of all types. The legal obligation to include these types of cultural assets into the protection and preservation policy and measures is of critical importance to the national minorities.

The Law on Film is expected to be passed soon, which will also open up opportunities for creative work for all national minorities and other citizens of the republic of Croatia.

From the jurisdiction of the Office for National Minorities of the Government of the Republic of Croatia:

Funds are earmarked from to state budget every year for the implementation of ethnic programmes organized and co-ordinated by the Ministry of Education and Sport, the National and University Library, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Culture, and non-governmental agencies and institutions of national minorities. Associations of national minorities organize a variety of cultural activities aimed at preserving and developing the minorities' ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural identity.

• Factual

From the jurisdiction of the Office for National Minorities:

National minorities perform a variety of cultural activities. The bulk of the cultural activities are organized by cultural societies or - in national minorities which do not have such societies - the minority's non-governmental agencies at the state level. Their activities are co- financed by the state budget.

Members of the national minority of Italians have as their umbrella association the Italian Union, which brings together 40 communities of Italians and have three cultural societies: "Fratellanza" based in Rijeka, "Marko Garbin" based in Rovinj, and “Lino Marianni" based in Pula. Following is a an overview of their 1997activities.

The cultural and performing society "Fratellanza" based in Rijeka staged a number of concerts performed by the "Fedeli Fiumani" Choir, in Italy (Cadore, Pordenone, Redipuglia), concerts by the baroque music ensemble "Collegium musicum Fluminennse”, a performance by a string instruments ensemble and a mandolin band, and a number of festival evenings performed by its Minicantanti section. The society also staged exhibitions of paintings, ceramics, and batik technique, as well as "Romolo Venucci” exhibitions. The choir, the ensembles and the sections also contributed towards the ceremony marking the 50^th anniversary of the Union of Italians of Pula.

The cultural and performing society ”Marko Garbin" based in Rovinj staged performances by the women's folklore group "Arie da contrada" and marked its own 50^th anniversary by inviting a brass band to play in Vizinada (Italy).

The cultural and performing society "Lino Marianni" based in Pula staged a few commemorative concerts performed by men's, women's and mixed choirs, as well as concerts by a mandolin band and the chamber orchestra. Choirs of the cultural societies participated in the Accademia di Venezia concert staged in Pula, as well as the New Year's concert.

The Italian Drama is a professional theatrical institution made up of the members of the Italian national community, which operates within National Theatre "Ivan Zajc" in Rijeka, and consists of three ensembles: opera, ballet and drama. The Italian Drama staged three premiers: "Shakespeare i Elisabetta" by Miro Gavran, "Il berretto a sonagli" by Luigi Pirandello and "Delikatessen" by Carpinteri-Faraguna, as well as a number of repeat performances throughout Istria, Dalmatia, Slovensko Primorje and Italy.

The Italian Union is an umbrella association bringing together members of the Itaian national community, which includes 40 communities of Italians, specifically those in: Opatija, Labin, Buje, Cres, Novigrad, Krasica, Vodnjan, Fazana, Rijeka, Galizana, Livade, Groznjan, Lovran, Mali Losinj, Momjan, Baderna, Motovun, Vrsar, Porec, Buzet, Pazin, Badljevina, Pula, Rovinj, Savudrija, Babica, Umag, Labinci, Sisan, Zrnj, Split, Tar, Bale, Brtonigla, Nova Vas, Visnjan, Vizinada, Zadar and Kutina. The Italian Union organized: the traditional children's festival entitled "Voci Nostre" held in Porec, the traditional painting and writing show entitled “Istria nobilissima" held in Portoroz, the 4^th traditional cultural event called "Ex tempore” and staged in Groznjan; the participation of the folklore group of the union and the cultural and performing society "Fratellanza" and the brass band Lino Mariani in Brtonigla, as well as concerts by the "Fedeli Fiumani" choir held in Rome, Venice and Vicenza, the Week of Italian Culture held in Piran, the Folklore Festival held in Babica, the Brass Band Festival held in Vodnjan, a guest performance by the symphony orchestra "G. Verdi" based in Trieste, and the exhibition and the printing of a catalogue of works by the visual artist Egidio Budicin.

The Community of Italians in Pula marked its 50^th anniversary with a commemorative programme, and the folklore group of the Community of Italians in Vodnjan participated in the event entitled "Cultural Creation by National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia" held in Zagreb.

The Italian Union of Rijeka was granted funds from the 1998 state budget to finance the programme of cultural amateurism and cultural events. Details of this are given in the enclosure.

Members of the Czech national minority are gathered around the umbrella association of the Union of Czechs (Savez Ceha), which brings together 22 "Ceska Beseda" cultural societies based in: Daruvar, Ceska Obec Bjelovar, Daruvarski Brestovac, Dezanovac, Doljani, Hercegovac, Gornij Daruvar, Ivanovo Selo, Jazvenik, Kaptol, Koncanica, Ljudevit-selo, Veliki and Mali Zdenci, Meduric, Prekopakra, Zagreb, Golubinjak, Karlovac-Sibovac, Donji Sredani, Rijeka, Lipovac, and Slavonski Brod. Following is an overview of their 1997 activities.

"Ceske Besede" organized the performances by folklore groups to mark the landmark dates in the Czech .history, culture and customs. Ceske Besede, Daruvar staged an event to mark its 90^th anniversary, and Ceske Besede Koncanica commemorated its 65^th anniversary. Daruvar marked the 100^th anniversary of on-going theatrical activities. The drama group of "Ceski Besede" Daruvar participated in the Festival in the Czech Republic and the 37^th Festival of Amateur Theatres in Murter. The Association of Czechs in the Republic of Croatia arranged the Show of Amateur Drama Groups, held in Donji Sredani, the Show of Czech Children's Songs entitled "Koncanica 97”, the traditional event entitled “_etvene svecanosti" (harvest festivities) held in Koncanica, the 90^th anniversary of the "Frante Buriana" library, the 75^th anniversary of the Czech elementary school "J.A.Komenskog" and the 70^th anniversary of the children's daycare center "Ferdo Mravinec", accompanied by an exhibition with the same name and a book promotion. The folklore group of “Ceske Besede" Daruvar, called "Holubicka", participated in the event "Cultural Creation by the National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia", held in Zagreb.

Funds from the 1998 state budget of the Republic of Croatia allocated for the Union of Czechs (Savez Ceha) amounted to HRK568,400. For more details see the enclosed Ruling of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. After the balancing of the 1998 state budget, the union of Czechs was granted an additional HRK15,000 for participation in the Zagreb Fair as part of the exhibiton entitled “The Czech Republic - A Partner Country”

Members of the Slovak national minority are organized in the Union of Slovaks (Savez Slovaka), and have four cultural and performing societies: “Ivan Brnjik Slovak” based in Jelisavac, “Braca Banas” based in Josipovcac, “Franjo Strapac” based in Markovac Nasicki and “Ludovit Stur” based in Ilok, as well as te singing groups, drama groups, language and dancing groups with their branches in: Nasice, Jurevac, Zagreb, Rijeka, Soljani, Lipovljani, Osijek and Meduric. The following is an overview of their 1997 activities.

The cultural and performing society "Ivan Brnjik Slovak" based in Jelisavac, marked its 30^th anniversary by performing in Ludbregu.

The cultural and performing society “Branca Banas" based in Josipovac performed its folklore programme at the "Dakovacki vezovi" festival.

The "Franjo Strapac" society from Markovac Nasicki, staged a number of performances by its dance group and choir to mark both the Day of Statehood and the Easter Holiday, and participated in the folklore festivals in Pletrnica, Nasice and "Grahovackom proljece" (Grahavo spring), as well as in the event called "Cultural Creation by the National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia", held in Zagreb.

The Central Cultural Society of Slovaks celebrated its 5^th anniversary as well as the Days of Slovak Culture.