Croatia Eyes New Benefit Model for WWII Disabled Veterans

The Croatian government is preparing to introduce a new model for calculating disability benefits for civilian victims of the Second World War and wartime disabled individuals. This proposed change aims to bring their compensation in line with the benefits received by Croatian defenders and civilian casualties from the Homeland War.

The government's intention was communicated in a statement to the ombudswoman for persons with disabilities. The ombudswoman, Darijo Jurišić, had previously highlighted in her 2025 report to the Croatian Parliament that civilian war victims and wartime disabled individuals from WWII are a "neglected and forgotten category of persons with disabilities." She noted that while compensation amounts for other disability categories have increased significantly since 2000, those under the Law on Protection of War and Civilian Disabled Persons have remained stagnant.

Jurišić's report pointed out that this group is consistently overlooked in state support measures, leading to a perception of being treated as second-class citizens compared to other disability groups. The government acknowledged that under the Law on Croatian Defenders, benefits were also calculated based on a percentage of the budget base and had not changed until 2024. However, amendments to that law and the Law on Civilian Victims of the Homeland War have since introduced a new model where benefit amounts are determined annually by the government based on economic conditions and user needs.

The government stated that it will "consider the possibility of introducing such a model" for the Law on Protection of War and Civilian Disabled Persons in the future. However, the government rejected the ombudswoman's suggestion that responsibility for these individuals be transferred from the Ministry of Croatian Veterans to the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy. It argued that having a disability does not automatically mean that another ministry should handle their rights and status issues.

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mirnodopski vojni invalidi i civilni invalidi rata "zapostavljena i zaboravljena kategorija osoba s invaliditetom".