The Pravobraniteljice za Djecu (Ombudsperson for Children) published its twenty-second report covering the state of children’s rights during 2024 in Croatia, including issues related to international protection.
In this context, Section 4.8 of the report highlights that the new EU asylum framework, adopted in 2024, includes provisions such as shorter deadlines for appointing legal guardians for unaccompanied minors and stronger safeguards regarding detention. The report also presents quantitative data, noting that while the number of asylum applicants decreased by 60% from 2023 to 2024, the number of children applying for international protection increased from 1,516 to 1,980. Of these, 41 children, including one unaccompanied child, were granted protection.
The Ombudsperson for Children further observes that unaccompanied children often do not receive a decision on their application, primarily because Croatia serves as a transit country.
The complete report (in Croatian) is available here.