On 10 September 2026, the Croatian Law Centre held a conference marking the 75th anniversary of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, at the Society of University Professors and Other Scientists in Zagreb. The event brought together key stakeholders from the asylum and migration system for an informal yet structured discussion on the lasting relevance of the Convention’s principles, its relationship with European Union law, and the development of the international protection system in the Republic of Croatia.
The opening session featured Prof. Goranka Lalić Novak, PhD, President of the Croatian Law Centre, Helena Behr, Head of the Legal Unit at the UNHCR Regional Office for Central and South-Eastern Europe, and Prof. Davorin Lapaš, PhD, of the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb. They spoke about the Convention’s central role in international law, the importance of upholding protection standards amid growing global displacement, and its influence on the national asylum system.
The section on building the international protection system in Croatia consisted of three separate panels: “Development of the Asylum Procedure”, “Access to Rights” and “Inclusion and Integration”. Representatives of institutions, the legal profession and civil society organisations engaged in a constructive dialogue on the main challenges they face in their work, and highlighted the progress made over the past twenty years in developing both the international protection system and the supporting inclusion system in Croatia.
The conference closed with a personal reflection by Semih Adiguzel, who connected what is written in law with real-life experience and the obstacles encountered in exercising rights. His address served as a reminder that behind every convention, strategy, law and regulation, we are ultimately speaking about real people.
The conference was held within the project “Access to the Territory of the Republic of Croatia – Legal Support and Capacity Building”, financially supported by UNHCR.
