http___www.undp.org_content_croatia_hr_home_ourwork_crisispreventionandrecovery_successstories_WitnessSupport__1.xml
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Witness support offices help to deliver justice By Sunčica Pleština Highlights - UNDP has worked in partnership with the Croatian Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court to create a network of offices that provide crime victims with the information and reassurance they need to appear in court and testify with confidence. - The Council of Europe has recognized the Croatian system as a model for the rest of the region. - We rely on our volunteer network, which now numbers 193 people, to expand the system of witness-victim support. "As an employee of a retail chain, to my greatest regret, I was the witness of an armed robbery. It was an extremely traumatic experience that forced me to change my job," writes M. K. in her letter to the President of Vukovar County Court. "Four years after the event, I received a summons to testify against the suspected perpetrator, and my agony started again. For days I could not sleep … fearful of meeting the suspect and of his revenge. I was re-living the fear and stress of that day." Fortunately, along with her summons, M.K. received contact information for the Office for Witness and Victim Support attached to the Vukovar County Court. The day before her testimony she paid the office a visit. Branka Lučić, the office head, and her assistant Daniela Čukelj welcomed M.K. and explained the court process and what to expect, even showing her on a diagram where she would sit. When she went to court to give gave evidence, M.K. was joined by the office staff. "On the day of testimony, a day which I feared for years, Branka was there to support me. With her gentle voice and light conversation she diverted my attention away from the process. It worked on me better than any medication. Totally calm and relaxed I waited until it was my turn to testify. Fear was replaced with peace, security and a sense of awareness that I was doing the right thing. Afterwards I was completely calm; I went to work and felt wonderful, like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders." Seven offices counsel more than 14,000 witnesses Support offices like the one in Vukovar were created by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), working together with the Croatian Ministry of Justice and Supreme Court. Over six years, the seven witness support offices in operation – four set up in 2008 and another three created in 2011 – have already provided support and counselling to more than 14,000 victims, and the number is rising steadily as the availability of this assistance becomes more widely known. Inspired by the need to provide protection the victims of war crimes committed during the 1991-95 war that accompanied the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the offices were ultimately created to address the needs of any victim who otherwise might be too fearful or traumatized to testify. Assistance has been provided in cases of domestic violence, assault, robbery, rape and sexual abuse, murder, corruption, war crimes and organized crime. Support services are particularly vital in cases of domestic violence. The offices provide services free of charge, and witnesses enjoy full confidentiality. The first four witness support offices were created in 2008 at county courts in Osijek, Vukovar, Zadar and Zagreb. UNDP hired the office staff (generally psychologists or social workers), provided them with specialized training, and secured and refurbished offices and waiting rooms. The private waiting rooms serve a vital function, as they give witnesses a secure refuge where there is no risk of an encounter with their assailants in the courthouse corridors. The offices also enlisted the help of a network of trained volunteers, many of them law students; this now numbers nearly 200. A first challenge was alerting the public to the existence of the centers. A public awareness campaign, No witness, no justice, was conducted nationwide, informing citizens that victims of crimes have rights that are protected and where they should turn for help. A dedicated website was also created at www.mprh.hr with practical information about trial proceedings. Finally, starting in November 2008, a leaflet detailing the services of witness support offices and contact information was attached to every court subpoena. These efforts prompted an increase in the number of visitors to the support offices, and this in turn improved the response rate for witnesses in court cases. After a first successful year, the Ministry of Justice and court administration undertook to cover the costs of the support offices, ensuring their sustainability. A second wave of Witness and Victim Support Offices was created by UNDP early in 2011, at the county courts in Rijeka, Sisak and Split. These additions ensure that now every major Croatian city has a witness support office. As with the first four offices, the Justice Ministry kept its pledge to take over funding for the three new offices in 2012. The costs of creating the witness-victim support system have been modest. The seven offices were set up on a budget of under $1.1 million, with funding from UNDP, the Netherlands, Spain, the United States, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). UNDP is now expanding the system further to establish a nationwide toll-free telephone hotline staffed by volunteers from the Witness and Victims Support Association. Once in operation, this service will address the needs of crime victims who live too far away to seek advice at one of the seven county courts that have Witness Victim Support Offices, and also those who prefer anonymity. Overcoming mistrust of the justice system As the staff of witness support offices attest, many Croatian citizens remain apprehensive of even entering a courthouse, let alone appearing in a courtroom to testify. This firsthand view is supported by public opinion surveys which show that only one-third of Croatian citizens believe the system is efficient in finding and prosecuting the perpetrators of criminal offenses, and as many as 40 percent believe that the penal system fails to address the needs of crime victims. A significant share who say they have been victims of a crime admit that they have never reported the offence to the police. People summoned to testify often lack the most basic information. Although the witness support offices are barred from delving into the substance of witness testimony, they do answer a host of questions about the judicial process and the rights and obligations of witnesses. Typical questions include: Do I have an obligation to testify? Can I be forced to appear? What will the judge ask? Who is allowed to be present? How long do the hearings last? Who covers my expenses? Do I have to meet the accused? Where will the accused be sitting? (Witnesses are often relieved to discover that the defendant is seated behind them, so there is no need to make eye contact.) In addition, although the support office itself does not provide legal or psychological counseling, its staff can refer witnesses and victims to other institutions and associations that can provide expert help. When UNDP and Ministry of Justice first raised the idea of witness support offices, Croatian judges were sceptical, fearing interference in their own work. Now, however, they are among the system's biggest advocates. They cite a reduction in the number of proceedings that are stalled because witnesses fail to appear in court; an increase in the number of particularly vulnerable victims who decide to report crimes and give evidence; and a rising number of victims and witnesses who are willing to testify. Now judges are even reaching out to witness support offices in sensitive cases, where there is a particular risk that a witness will fail to respond to a subpoena. Asking the witness support office to reach out to victims reduces the risk of having to postpone a hearing or bring a witness forcibly to court and impose a fine. It also improves the confidence and thus the credibility of witness testimony. A model for justice and reconciliation In sum, the offices play three main roles: they protect the human rights of crime victims; they improve the efficiency of the justice system by helping deliver the confident and reliable witness testimony needed to put criminals behind bars; and they help restore civic trust in the rule of law. The Croatian model of witness support offices has been recognized internationally as a success story and a model for other countries. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe explicitly praised the work of UNDP in a 26 January 2011 resolution entitled, "The protection of witnesses as a cornerstone for justice and reconciliation in the Balkans" and urged that witness support offices be established across Southeast Europe. It is hard to imagine a more glowing endorsement: Resolution 1784 calls upon "the competent authorities in the states and territories concerned to provide funding for and establish witness support programmes, using those that have been set up by the United Nations Development Programme in Croatia as a model, in all courts dealing with witnesses in serious crimes." 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Lakše do pravde uz pomoć ureda za podršku svjedocima Napisala: Sunčica Pleština Naglasci - UNDP je, u suradnji s Ministarstvom pravosuđa i Vrhovnim sudom RH stvorio mrežu ureda koje žrtvama kaznenih djela pružaju informacije i podršku koja im je potrebna da bi se pojavili na sudu i s povjerenjem svjedočili. - Vijeće Europe prepoznalo je hrvatski sustav kao model za ostale zemlje u rediji. - Kako bi proširili sustav podrške žrtvama i svjedocima oslanjamo se na mrežu volontera kojih trenutno ima 193. "Kao zaposlenica jednog trgovačkog lanca, na moju veliku žalost, imala sam prilike biti svjedokom kaznenog djela oružane pljačke. Za mene je to bilo iznimno traumatično iskustvo zbog kojega sam promijenila i radno mjesto, sve u pokušaju zaboravljanja tog nemilog incidenta", piše M.K u svom pismu predsjedniku Županijskog suda u Vukovaru."Četiri godine nakon događaja, primitkom poziva za svjedočenje protiv osumnjičenog počinitelja, moja agonija krenula je ispočetka. Danima nisam mogla spavati, strahovala sam od susreta s osumnjičenikom i njegove eventualne osvete, uglavnom, ponovno sam proživljavala sav onaj teško zaboravljeni strah i stres." Srećom, uz poziv M.K. je dobila i kontakt informacije Ureda za podršku svjedocima i žrtvama u prilogu iz Županijskog suda u Vukovaru. Dan uoči svjedočenja posjetila je ured. Voditeljica ureda Branka Lučić i njezina asistentica Daniela Čukelj poželjele su joj dobrodošlicu i objasnile sudski proces, što može očekivati, te joj na dijagramu pokazale gdje će sjediti u sudnici. Kad je otišla na sud kako bi dala iskaz M.K je također dobila potporu osoblja ureda. "Na sam dan svjedočenja, dan od kojeg sam strahovala četiri godine, uz mene je bila gđa Branka Lučić. Svojim blagim glasom i neobaveznim razgovorom odvraćala mi je pozornost od onoga zbog čega sam došla na sud. Na mene je djelovala bolje od tableta za smirenje. Potpuno mirno i opušteno dočekala sam svoj red za svjedočenje, strah koji sam imala je nestao i zamijenio ga je mir, osjećaj sigurnosti i svijest da svojim svjedočenjem činim pravu stvar. Nakon svjedočenja potpuno smireno sam otišla na posao i cijeli dan sam se osjećala prekrasno, lagano, kao čovjek koji je skinuo težak teret sa svojih leđa." Sedam ureda savjetuje preko 14,000 svjedoka Urede za podršku kao što je ovaj u Vukovaru otvorio je Program Ujedinjenih naroda za razvoj (UNDP) u suradnji s Ministarstvom pravosuđa i Vrhovnim sudom Republike Hrvatske. U nešto više od šest godina, sedam postojećih ureda za podršku svjedocima – četiri otvorena 2008. i još tri 2011. godine – već su dali potporu i savjetovali preko 14,000 žrtava, a taj broj je u stalnom porastu posebno sada kad je dostupnost pomoći postala šire poznata. Izvorno zamišljen da pruži podršku žrtvama ratnih zločina počinjenih tijekom Domovinskog rata od 1991. do 1995. godine, koji je pratio raspad Jugoslavije, uredi su proširili nadležnost tako da sada pružaju podršku svim žrtvama koje su u strahu ili previše traumatizirane da bi svjedočile. Osim za ratne zločine, podrška se pruža i u slučajevima obiteljskog nasilja, napada, razbojništva, silovanja, ubojstva, korupcije i organiziranog kriminala. Usluge podrške osobito su vitalne u slučajevima obiteljskog nasilja, besplatne su i sve što je izrečeno ostaje u povjerenju. Prva četiri ureda otvorena su 2008. godine na županijskim sudovima u Osijeku, Vukovaru, Zadru i Zagrebu. UNDP je angažirao osoblje (uglavnom psihologe ili socijalne radnike), pružio im specijaliziranu obuku, a uredima je osigurao posebne prostorije i čekaonice. Izdvojene čekaonice iznimno su važne jer pružaju svjedocima sigurno utočište u kojem nema opasnosti od susreta s napadačima na hodnicima suda. Uredi koriste i pomoć educiranih volontera, većinom studenata prava, kojih trenutno ima gotovo 200. Prvi je izazov bio informiranje javnosti o postojanju centara. Kampanja osvještavanja javnosti Bez svjedoka nema pravde provedena je širom zemlje zemlje i u sklopu nje građani su dobili informacije koja su prava žrtava kaznenih djela te gdje se mogu obratiti za pomoć. Otvorena je i zasebna web stranica na: www.mprh.hr s praktičnim informacijama o sudskom postupku. Konačno, od studenog 2008. godine informativni letak o pojedinostima usluga koje pružaju uredi priložen je svakom sudskom pozivu. Ovi napori povećali su broj korisnika usluga ureda, što je dovelo do poboljšanog odaziva svjedoka u sudskim postupcima. Nakon uspješne prve godine, Ministarstvo pravosuđa i sudovi preuzeli su na sebe troškova ureda i tako osigurali njihovu održivost. Drugi val uspostave ureda za podršku UNDP proveden je početkom 2011. godine, proširenjem usluge na županijske sudove u Rijeci, Sisku i Splitu. Trenutno u svakom većem hrvatskom gradu postoji ured za podršku svjedocima. Kao i u slučaju prva četiri ureda, Ministarstvo pravosuđa se obvezalo preuzeti na sebe financiranje tri nova ureda od 2012. godine. Troškovi uspostave sustava podrške svjedocima i žrtvama su skromni. Za pokretanje sedam ureda utrošeno je nešto manje od 1,1 milijuna dolara, uz financijsku podršku UNDP-a, Nizozemske, Španjolske, SAD-a, te Organizacije za europsku sigurnost i suradnju (OESS). UNDP trenutno radi na proširenju usluge i na telefonsko savjetovanje te uspostavu besplatnog broja na koji će se javljati volonteri Udruge za podršku žrtvama i svjedocima. Uvođenje besplatne telefonske linije pomoći će upravo osobama koje ne žive u blizini postojećih sedam županijskih središta te nisu u mogućnosti osobno doći do ureda i raspitati se o svojim pravima i obavezama, kao i onima koji žele sačuvati svoju anonimnost. Prevladavanje nepovjerenja u pravosuđe Kao što osoblje Ureda za podršku svjedocima može potvrditi, mnogi hrvatski građani još se uvijek ustručavaju ući u sudsku zgradu, a kamoli pojaviti se u sudnici radi svjedočenja. Ovu informaciju iz prve ruke podržavaju i rezultati ispitivanja javnog mnijenja koje pokazuje da samo jedna trećina hrvatskih građana smatra kaznenopravni sustav učinkovitim kad se radi o pronalaženju i procesuiranju počinitelja kaznenih djela, a čak 40 posto ispitanika vjeruje da kazneno-pravni sustav ne može ispuniti potrebe žrtava kaznenih djela. Značajan je i broj onih koji kažu da su bili žrtve kaznenog djela, ali priznaju da o tome nikada nisu obavijestili policiju. Ljudima koji su pozvani svjedočiti često nedostaju najosnovnije informacije. Iako je službenicima ureda zabranjeno miješanje u iskaze svjedoka, oni mogu odgovoriti na niz pitanja o sudskom postupku i pravima i obvezama svjedoka. Najčešća pitanja su: Imam li obvezu svjedočiti? Mogu li biti prisiljen/a pojaviti se na sudu? Što će sudac pitati? Tko će sve biti prisutan? Koliko dugo traje rasprava? Tko pokriva moje troškove? Moram li upoznati optuženika? Gdje će optuženi sjediti? (Svjedoci često osjete olakšanje kad im se otkrije da će optuženik sjediti iza njih te da nema potrebe za izravnim kontaktom). Iako službenici ureda ne pružaju pravno ili psihološko savjetovanje, oni mogu uputiti svjedoke na druge ustanove i organizacije koje im mogu pružiti stručnu pomoć. Kada je UNDP prvi put predložio ideju o pokretanju ureda za podršku svjedocima i žrtvama, hrvatski suci bili su skeptični, bojeći se uplitanja u njihov rad. Danas su, međutim, među najglasnijim zagovornicima sustava. Kao razloge navode smanjenje broja predmeta koji su u zastoju zbog nepojavljivanja svjedoka na sud; povećanje broja posebno ranjivih žrtava koje odlučuju prijaviti kaznena djela te veći broj žrtava i svjedoka koji su spremni svjedočiti. Danas se suci obraćaju uredima za podršku i u posebno osjetljivim predmetima, kada postoji povećan rizik da se svjedok neće odazvati sudskom pozivu. Uredi za podršku tada stupaju u kontakt sa svjedokom i tako smanjuju rizik od odgode ročišta ili prisilnog dovođenja svjedoka uz izricanje novčane kazne. Također, na taj način poboljšavaju samopouzdanje svjedoka, a samim tim i vjerodostojnost njihovog iskaza. Model za pravdu i pomirenje Zaključno, uredi imaju tri ključne uloge: štite ljudska prava žrtava kaznenih djela, poboljšavaju učinkovitost pravosuđa jer pomažu pribaviti povjerljive i pouzdane iskaze koji su potrebni kako bi počinitelji bili kažnjeni te pomažu u uspostavi povjerenja građana u vladavinu prava. Hrvatski model ureda za podršku svjedocima međunarodno je priznat kao priča o uspjehu i model za druge zemlje. Parlamentarna skupština Vijeća Europe izričito je pohvalila rad UNDP-a Rezolucijom od 26. siječnja 2011. pod nazivom "Zaštita svjedoka kao temelj za pravdu i pomirenje na Balkanu" i pozvala na uspostavu ureda za podršku svjedocima na području cijele jugoistočne Europe. Teško je zamisliti veće priznanje: Rezolucija 1784 poziva "nadležna tijela u odnosnim državama i teritorijima da osiguraju sredstva i uspostave programe podrške svjedocima, koristeći kao model one koji su već uspostavljeni od strane Programa Ujedinjenih naroda za razvoj u Republici Hrvatskoj, u svim sudovima koji se bave svjedocima teških kaznenih djela." Najnovije vijesti - 29 sij 2015:Zelena struja u utičnicama grada Koprivnice - 29 sij 2015:Solarna energija za svjetliju budućnost ruralnih krajeva Hrvatske - 02 sij 2015:Suradnja na području obnovljivih izvora energije kao opcija za EU i Zapadni Balkan Pogledajte naš video Reportaža o uredima za podršku, emitirana u HTV-ovoj emisiji 'Proces' (26.10.2009.)