"Croatian citizens object more to the work of social services than to the work of the police. This means that we need radical changes in that area," Puhovski said at the ceremony at which annual HHO awards for the promotion of human rights were given.
Puhovski said that more and more people were contacting HHO offices every year to complain about poverty and difficult financial status, and urged relevant institutions to provide for the most destitute categories of the population.
Puhovski recalled that one can frequently witness the rudeness and ruthlessness of social workers, the inappropriate allocation of welfare benefits, and the conduct of social workers which he said threatened the basic rights of disadvantaged groups.
He urged a serious discussion about rights and privileges at all levels, from pensioners to war veterans and the unemployed, and commended changes in the police as well as political measures which led to a decrease in ethnically-motivated incidents.
Commenting on the situation in the judiciary, he called for organising a forum to discuss specific final court decisions and the possible incompetence of some judges.
As for the media, Puhovski said that they were violating the right to privacy and revealing more and more information relating to crime incidents. The HHO leader said that capitalist pressure on the media had increased and that the government was not protecting the media.
The ceremony was also attended by President Stjepan Mesic, who said that respect for human rights was increasingly improving. Nevertheless, citizens often feel insecure due to the inefficiency of some state institutions, particularly when encountering corruption and organised crime, he said.
Efforts must be made to continue with the adjustment of national legislation to that of the EU and with the development of the judiciary, police and other institutions in order to discover and prosecute organised crime and corruption, he said, adding that young people should be taught that all people were equal in their rights and dignity, as well as in their obligations towards others.
Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said that the search for people who were imprisoned or went missing during the 1991-1995 Homeland War and care for the Roma community, women and children were the government's priority humanitarian tasks.
The HHO today presented three persons with its annual awards for their contribution to the protection of human rights.
The chief imam of Osijek, Enes efendi Poljic, was awarded for the promotion of interreligious dialogue and religious tolerance. Drago Hedl, Osijek-based reporter with the Feral Tribune weekly, was awarded for the promotion of human rights in the media, while the head of the government's office for missing and imprisoned persons, Ivan Grujic, was awarded for the protection and promotion of human rights by state institutions exceeding their professional obligations.