22 million kunas to associations for the protection of human rights and improving the position of Roma minority

On the occasion of the completion of the process of contracting projects financed under EU grant IPA 2012, in the House of Europe ceremony of handing 22 contracts worth 22 million kunas was staged.

The purpose of the tender "Strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations to ensure the effective implementation of EU standards in the realization of human rights" is to strengthen the contribution of civil society in consistent implementation of European standards of human rights and minority rights, enhancing the participation of citizens in the protection of human rights and improving the situation and exercising the rights of Roma in Croatia. 

Igor Vidačak, Director of the Office for cooperation with NGOs of the Croatian Government in his presentation stated that the active and strong civil society is a guarantee of sustainability of reforms in the field of human and minority rights that Croatia launched in the EU accession process. In the last decade through the EU tenders of the Office for cooperation with NGOs was withdrawn 40 million euros to support civil society and through the European Social Fund in the programming period 2014th-2020th NGOs will have access to 90 million euros. He also commented on the justification of financing NGOs and  pointed out that in recent years a quality institutional framework for objective and impartiall financing of  NGOs from public sources was established, which ensured a high level of fiscal responsibility and transparency in the allocation of funds.

Nataša Mikuš, Director of Central Finance and Contracting Agency, congratulated the beneficiaries stressing that more than 100 applications to tender were received, and that later this year contracting of last projects from EU pre-accession funds for the civil society sector is expected.

Contracts for 22 projects of civil society organizations awarded Ms. Milanka Opacic, Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Policy and Youth. Ms. Opacic thanked associations for their dedicated work, especially in smaller communities where associations act as one of the few forms of support to vulnerable groups. She stressed that for obvious progress in the protection of human rights and the position of Roma minority we can certainly thank the associations. She concluded that the associations with their efforts and field work and greater flexibility in relation to the institutional structures are indispensable actors in social development.

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