For the first time, the American Administration admits that its human rights record can be criticised regarding rights in the country as well as during American operations in the "war on terrorism".
Regarding Croatia, the 18-page section reads that in 2006 the Croatian government "generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas."
"The judicial system suffered from a severe backlog, although during the year it made headway in reducing the number of cases awaiting a hearing. Intimidation of some witnesses in domestic war crimes trials remained a problem, with one notably high-profile case involving parliamentarian Branimir Glavas. Courts largely discontinued the practice of in-absentia trials, although some trials continued against large groups for war crimes."
The U.S. State Department criticised Zagreb for making "little progress in restituting property nationalized by the Yugoslav communist regime to non-Roman Catholic religious groups. The Orthodox Church was particularly critical of the government's reluctance to consistently implement laws and speed up return of confiscated property."
In this context the government was criticised for failing to fully implement "programs providing housing to ethnic Serb refugees who lost access to socialized housing."
"While NGOs noted a significant decline in violence against ethnic Serbs, societal violence and discrimination against ethnic minorities, particularly Serbs and Roma, remained a problem. The 2002 Constitutional Law on National Minorities remained largely unimplemented, particularly relating to public sector employment. In addition violence and discrimination against women continued. School officials continued to segregate Romani students into substandard schools. Trafficking in persons remained a problem," the Croatian section reads.