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Zagreb - Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter said in the Parliament on Thursday that the institution of Ombudswoman should be a bridge between all stakeholders involved in human rights protection and that it was important for the Parliament to regularly discuss its reports.
The demanding tasks of the Ombudswoman make that institution an ideal partner to the Parliament for work to the benefit of citizens. - It should be a bridge between stakeholders involved in human rights protection - bodies of state administration, civil society organizations, parliament, and citizens, said Šimonović Einwalter while defending reports by her office for the past three years.
The fact that the Parliament discusses the human rights situations in 2018 only in May 2021 was criticised particularly by Social Democrat MPs. -This is a disgrace, it shows how much human rights are important to the ruling majority, said Domagoj Hajduković.
MP Vesna Nađ said that she saw in this an attempt to marginalise the office of the Ombudswoman and that it was a clear message to bodies of public authority that the Parliament does not want to hear the criticism addressed to it.
Timely discussion is the most important because it shows responsibility to citizens, Šimonović Einwalter said, noting that the reports had been submitted on time.
MP says former Ombudswoman had asymmetric approach
Some of the MPs asked the Ombudswoman about her predecessor's work and her opinion about it since she had been her deputy for a number of years.
- (Lora) Vidović had an asymmetric approach, not all citizens and not all rights were equally important to her, to some phenomena she responded fast and to some not, said independent MP Marijana Petir, mentioning in that context conscientious objectors.
Bridge MP Marija Selak Raspudić, too, mentioned controversies related to Vidović's work, asking the new Ombudswoman if she could critically comment on at least one segment of her work.
We are all separate individuals, the Ombudswoman said, adding that she was proud of what she did as Vidović's deputy.
Homeland Movement MP Karolina Vidović Krišto wondered if Šimonović Einwalter's appointment was an act of nepotism given that her father was diplomat Ivan Šimonović and she resented her having been elected by what she described as an HDZ-SDP coalition.
Šimonović Einwalter said that she was elected by a majority of 115 Members of Parliament, that she was not hiding her family background, and that she would perform her duties in line with the Constitution and laws.
What is normal and what is abnormal
Hrvoje Zekanović of the Croatian Sovereignists asked the ombudswoman to say if, in the Šegota-Kožić case, which concerns a gay couple who were granted the right to provide foster case, the child's rights and freedom had been violated as "every child has the right to a normal family." - We will probably disagree on what a normal family is, my view is not relevant, what is relevant is the legal framework we have, she said.
The MP then said that the Croatian people had expressed their position on marriage and family and what is considered normal and abnormal in a referendum on marriage. -I am glad you have shown your true colours and sided with the liberal worldview... you are a proponent of left-liberal policies, said Zekanović.
Some of the MPs objected that the Ombudswoman's report for 2020, a year marked by the coronavirus pandemic, dedicated little attention to human rights in the context of the pandemic.
Of the 264 pages, only 10 deal with that, and at the same time there is a separate report on climate, said Nino Raspudić of Bridge.
The three Ombudswoman's reports describe the state of human rights in more than 60 topics and subtopics and contain an analysis and assessment of the state of human rights and freedoms, said Šimonović Einwalter.
- The basis for those reports are citizens' complaints, and in the past three and a half years there were 10,500. That is the body of information based on which conclusions and recommendations are made, she said.