While the freedom to practice religion is generally respected in Croatia, the Law on the Legal Status of Religious Communities passed in 2002 falls short of commitments of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), establishing a discriminatory, tiered system of registration, says the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).
For a new religious group to enjoy the rights and benefits available with the higher religious communities status, it must demonstrate a membership of at least 500 individuals and be registered under the lesser religious association status for five years, says the CSCE, an independent US government agency monitoring compliance with the Helsinki Final Act and other commitments of OSCE member-countries.
The rights available with the higher religious community status include: freedom to operate independently; capacity to determine one's own internal organization; freedom to conduct religious meetings in their own or leased space; tax exemptions; the right to establish schools; and ability to receive state funding.
The CSCE has established that there is general respect for religious freedoms in the region, but that there exist problematic policies which are contrary to commitments made when countries from the region joined the OSCE.
Those problems range from discriminatory legal schemes denying small religious communities registration to harsh government actions against unpopular religious groups and their leaders.
In addition to the excessive numerical threshold and the five-year prohibition on registering new groups as religious communities, Croatia's law on the status of religious communities declares that the name and insignia of a religious group may not contain the official names and insignia of other countries, which will cause the denial of registration, reads the report.
To lessen the likelihood of problems in the future and to set a positive example for others, Croatia should correct these deficiencies, as well as eliminate or significantly reduce the 500-member threshold, says the CSCE.