Republic of Croatia

In Croatia, more than 5,000 persons were reported missing during the conflict. Two-thirds of the missing have been accounted for. In 1996 the Croatian authorities began the systematic collection of genetic reference samples from families of the missing. Since 2002/2003, together with examination of human remains by traditional forensic methods, DNA testing has been mandatory. This is necessary owing to the passage of time, which has resulted in difficulties in identifying mortal remains using traditional forensic methods. 

Since 1996, Croatia has cooperated extensively with ICMP, which has assisted Croatia’s identification efforts with donations, expertise, support to victims’ groups and the monitoring of exhumations.

ICMP has supported the work of the associations of families of missing persons by, among other things, facilitating contacts with similar groups elsewhere in the region. ICMP has also over the years supported and monitored excavations of clandestine graves and the recovery of mortal remains in Croatia as it has elsewhere in the Western Balkans.

ICMP opened an office in Zagreb in 2001 and signed an office agreement in September 2002. In 2004, the Ministry of the Family, Veterans’ Affairs and Intergenerational Solidarity and ICMP signed an agreement on a Joint Project on DNA-led identifications. The Joint Project consisted of two sub-projects: the collection of blood samples in Croatia from family members who had not given blood until that point; and the exchange of nuclear DNA Short Tandem Repeat (STR) profiles to produce DNA reports that would lead to identifications. ICMP also made available its DNA-matching software and provided training in its use.

The Croatian authorities have demonstrated significant political commitment to address the issue of persons missing as a result of the conflict, and importantly the process of search and identification has been guided by an approach based on the rule of law that emphasizes the rights of the relatives of the missing to an effective investigation and to justice. The Croatian authorities have regulated the issue of missing persons through a set of laws, and have established purpose-specific institutions, such as a Directorate on Detained and Missing Persons, within the Ministry of Croatian Veterans, and an interdepartmental Commission on Missing Persons to coordinate the search for the missing. In recent years, they have reinvigorated the search for clandestine gravesites through the use of diverse technologies including aerial imagery, drones and ground-penetrating radar, and they have significantly increased the financial and human resources available to the Directorate on Detained and Missing Persons.

Croatia has signed agreements on cooperation in the process of accounting for missing persons with Montenegro (2017) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2018). Bilateral cooperation with Serbia is regulated by agreements signed in 1996.

The Croatian Parliament unanimously adopted the Law on Missing Persons in the Homeland War on 12 July 2019. Prior to the adoption of the Law, there was no single law in Croatia regulating the rights of persons missing from the conflict, and the rights of their families to learn about the fate of their missing relatives and the search procedure. The Law takes into account all aspects of the process. It regulates the rights of families, identification, registration of missing persons, and the safekeeping and burial of human remains. It also regulates cooperation with other states, international organizations and family associations.