The United Nations Children's Fund on Tuesday published a report on the impact of the recession on children in affluent countries of the European Union and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Children in Croatia are among the hardest hit by the current recession, which has impoverished a further 2.6 million children in developed countries since 2008, the report showed.
"Unfortunately, the report is not surprising," Milas Klaric told Hina, adding that it confirmed a recent survey showing that as many as 20% of pre-school children in Croatia live below the poverty line.
She said that this was due to saving on funds for children in state or local budgets and a decline in living standards which reflected on the quality of food, housing, health care, education and children's free time.
Milas Klaric said that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in September considered the government's report on children's rights in Croatia, repeating its recommendation for the adoption of a so-called children's budget that would not be reduced when budgetary funds were cut.
"Such a budget should definitely be protected from cost-cutting in times of crisis and natural disasters," Milas Klaric said, calling on the government to take measures to alleviate the risks and consequences of poverty for children.
The UNICEF report analysed 41 countries and found that 76.6 million children there were living below the poverty level. Poverty has increased in 23 countries, mostly in Ireland, Greece, Latvia, Croatia and Iceland, while the number of children who live in families with incomes below the poverty line has fallen in 18 countries, most markedly in Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Norway and Finland.
Croatia ranked 38th as the number of its poor children has increased by 11.8 percent since 2008. The largest increase was recorded in Ireland (20.4%), and increases were also observed in the United States (2.6%) and the United Kingdom (1.6%). Among Croatia's neighbours, in Hungary child poverty increased by 2.9% and in Slovenia by 1.8%.
Croatia ranked 39th in terms of the proportion of young people aged 15-24 who are not in education, employment or training, whose number has gone up by 8.5%. The largest increases were observed in Cyprus (9%) and Greece (8.9%), and increases were also recorded in Italy and Romania (5.6% each), Hungary (3.9%) and Slovenia (2.7%).