Project
Title: CENTER FOR INTEGRATION OF FOREIGNERS
Applicant: Civil Rights Project Sisak (PGP Sisak)
Partners:
– City of Sisak
– Civic initiative “My town of Sisak” (GIMG Sisak)
– Norwegian Refugee Council, Norway (NRC)
Implementation period: 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2022
Value: € 150,000.00, of which € 135,000.00 was provided through financial support from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway within the European Economic Area and Norwegian grants.
Contact: Milana Kreća, milana.kreca@crpsisak.hr, pgp-sisak@crpsisak.hr
Website: https://www.crpsisak.hr/acf/o-projektu/?lang=en
Summary:
The Centre for the Integration of Foreigners in Sisak is a new model for the protection of human rights of foreigners with unresolved status in Croatia. Serb returnees, stateless persons, Roma, applicants for international protection, refugees relocated from Turkey through resettlement program, except in Zagreb, have nowhere to turn for comprehensive assistance in one place. The centre will be in Sisak, but will operate throughout Croatia.
The project will provide a place where foreigners can come for assistance, because the Centre will systematically work on international protection and legal aid to foreigners, in cooperation with state bodies. In Croatia, this is the first such model of comprehensive support to foreigners in one place. The Centre will provide permanent assistance through integrated legal, psychosocial and other services.
CRP was established with the help of Norwegian Refugee Council, and the project will enable the continuation of bilateral cooperation between Croatia and Norway. Civic Initiative “My town of Sisak” will provide psychosocial assistance and participate in activities of social inclusion of beneficiaries in local community, and the City of Sisak will enable sustainability, because the City plans to build a Centre for Support of Vulnerable Groups in Sisak, which will be continuation of this project.
By monitoring the legislation through cooperation with the academic community, lawyers, civil society and the Ombudsman, we will point out the problems in practice and initiate changes. We will develop a new form of communication with representatives of public institutions for changes in the application of laws relating to foreigners. We will hold courses and workshops where foreigners and locals will jointly participate in order to overcome barriers.
The project will strengthen human rights associations dealing with issues of foreigners so that they can promote rights of foreigners, work on resolving the issue and inform and raise public awareness about the issue of foreigners. Attention will be paid to discrimination with an emphasis on racial or ethnic origin and religion, which applies to most foreigners.