UNDP Resident Representative to Croatia Louisa Vinton said a public opinion poll done as part of the project showed that 26 per cent of respondents felt they had experienced some form of discrimination in the last five years.
She said that was a lot and that there were problems, but what was interesting was that there were more complaints because of the economic status than because of ethnic or national identity.
Vinton said a lot had been done in Croatia, notably in legal protection, but that more had to be done in implementing the legal protection in everyday life.
People's Ombudsman Jurica Malcic said the project had significantly contributed to the capacity building of his office, cooperation with civil society organisations and improvement of potentials for the fight against discrimination.
He said the project played a key role in transforming the institution of the people's ombudsman from one which protected citizens from bad administration and acted on citizens' complaints into a proactive institution that fully promoted and protected human rights and freedoms.
Malcic said the project was also the foundation for the bill on the people's ombudsman which parliament is discussing today. He commended the bill and said it would strengthen the institution of the people's ombudsman.
Malcic said income discrimination played a big part in the perception of discrimination. "Citizens evidently feel they are discriminated against because of low income... and this most frequently and mainly refers to work and employment."
Deputy People's Ombudsman Dejan Palic said the ombudsman's report on discrimination in 2011 showed that, again, most complaints referred to work, employment and promotion at work, and that the basis of discrimination was the same as before, being a member of an ethnic minority.
Palic said the public still did not know enough about discrimination.
Last year, the People's Ombudsman Office received 147 discrimination complaints.
According to the public opinion poll, 63 per cent of cases of discrimination refer to work and employment, followed by health care, the judiciary, and the police. Social origin and income are the most frequent reasons for discrimination, while ethnicity fell to second place.