The UN General Assembly proclaimed 20th February as the World Day of Social Justice in November 2007. 192 member states supported efforts of the international community in poverty eradication, the promotion of full employment and decent work, gender equality and access to social welfare and justice for all.

Purpose of marking of the World Day of Social Justice is taking responsibility for realisation of „the society for all“, by way of planning promotional activities of social justice at national, regional and international level including equality of salaries, access to goods and equal opportunities.

Building on this decision the International Labour Organization unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization on 10th June 2008. The Declaration places the full and productive employment and decent work in the focus of economic and social policy, and reaffirms four strategic goals: employment promotion by creating sustainable institutional and economic environment, development and strengthening of the social care system, promotion of social three party dialogue, respect for the fundamental rights including the right to work.

Today social rights in Croatia are endangered by the objective impact of the economic crisis but also by the consequences of the process of reforms whereby the hardest austerity measures are imposed on the public sector and on the level of public services, i.e in those areas in which the social state should fulfil its role. Additionally, beneficiaries of social subsidies like for example homeless people, need to have better social inclusion; the elderly need better social care and wider access to social services like the support at their homes.

We also remind that Croatia has not yet ratified two key documents in the field of social rights: UN Optional Protocol to the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Council of Europe Revised European Social Charter which establish new mechanisms for protection of citizen’s social rights. The Optional Protocol grants more efficient access to justice in cases of the right to housing, food, water, health, social security and education, while the Revised Social Charter is relevant for realisation of labour rights – so actual nowadays.

 

OBMUDSWOMAN

Lora Vidović