WEB engleska verzija end.indd - UNDP Croatia

CHAPTER 3THE SOCIALLY EXCLUDEDbudget of 6.6 billion HRK, of which 4 billion is allocatedto veterans, the amount allocated for youth pales incomparison. According to the Operative Plan of the NationalProgramme of Action for Youth, the governmenthas budgeted additional 40 million HRK to 7 ministriesand two state offices, for the realisation of 40 prioritymeasures defined in the National Programme.3.8.10 Policy ImplicationsConsidering that the current situation for youth hasnot improved significantly over the past several years,many of the following recommendations can befound in other publications, especially those concerningyouth policy, such as the National Programme ofAction for Youth or the 2004 National Human DevelopmentReport for Croatia, committed to youth. Althoughthe youth sector has developed considerably in thepast 5 years, the government still has to recognizeyouth as a priority. Without this, any implementation ofindividual measures in a national or local programmewill be unstructured and ineffective.The Croatian Government should develop and adopta comprehensive strategy for youth employment aswell as incentives for solving the housing problem foryoung people. The state administration and regionaland local authorities should embrace the principleof “co-management” in all bodies concerning youth.This particularly relates to the Croatian GovernmentYouth Council that should promote equal participationof young people in its work. All levels of governmentshould develop projects of multiregional andmultifunctional youth centres in partnership withyoung people.Youth organisations should be more active and energeticin the implementation of programmes involvingyoung people aiming to increase the active participationof young people in society. They should also enterinto networks at the local level and, through theiractivities and engagement, impose themselves as anequal partner in the co-creation of youth policy.3.9 Prisoners3.9.1. Human RightsThe law prohibits discrimination against inmateson any grounds - regardless of their race, gender,language, religion, political beliefs, national or socialorigin, education, social position or other characteristics.Imprisonment means only the deprivation ofliberty, and as such, conditions and procedures usedin connection with inmates should not include anyadditional forms of punishment. Inmates, althoughguilty of criminal actions, are still citizens of Croatiaand should not be subject to the risk of physical oremotional abuse. A large portion of the public believethat inmates should not be provided with specialcare or comfortable conditions, given that many lawabiding citizens struggle with their quality of life andunemployment. “It is said that no-one truly knowsa nation until one has been inside its jails. A nationshould not be judged by how it treats its highestcitizens, but its lowest ones.” 124The level of social exclusion inmates will suffer tendsto be proportional to the duration of their sentences.Although inmates who are in the prison system for ayear or less adjust to society relatively quickly, theymay still experience exclusion in the loss of theirprevious employment, social contacts, emotionalconnections, and family communities. About onethirdof inmates are in prison for one to three yearsentences. Prison sentences longer than five years aremostly served in prison penitentiaries. Research hasshown that during sentences that exceed five years,a mutual process of separation occurs where inmateslose their sense of belonging to a wider social community,and embrace the prison community.The inmate demographic is a microcosm of society,containing various groups, some of which are especiallyvulnerable. These groups include the elderly,the disabled, people with mental disabilities, addicts,foreigners, illiterates and members of national minorities.Even within each of these groups, there are88124 Mandela N. (1994), Long Walk To Freedom, Little Brown, London.