Under the draft, the public ombudsman will have five deputies: for the protection and promotion of fundamental human rights, children's rights, gender equality, people with disability, and for elderly people.
The establishment of a human rights council as an advisory agency for the Office of the Public Ombudsman is also envisaged, Justice Ministry state secretary Barica Novosel said, adding that the new legislation was designed to upgrade the system of the protection of citizens' fundamental rights in compliance with the 2010 amended constitution, which defines the office of Public Ombudsman as an independent institution.
Dismissing speculation that the offices of ombudspersons for children, women and people with disabilities will be abolished, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said that the new law proposed closer cooperation of those offices and that this new synergy would produce better effects.
The Croatian government also earmarked HRK 400,000 for the summer holidays of children from Japanese areas struck by an earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster in March.