OSCE Office in Zagreb

Background

The OSCE Office in Zagreb was established by the OSCE Permanent Council Decision of 21 December 2007, which also refers to the end of the eleven-year-long presence of the OSCE Mission in Croatia.

The OSCE Mission to Croatia was established in April 1996 and was authorised to support the Government in dealing with the material consequences of the war, the reintegration of the former Serb-controlled areas, and the tasks of reconciliation. The Mission's report of 20 June 2006, on the general situation in Croatia, highlighting the consolidation and increased self-sustainability of many democratic institutions, brought about the closure of four of the Mission's programmatic areas - police reform, civil society development, freedom of the media, and political affairs. In its report issued on 17 July 2007, the OSCE Mission to Croatia further outlined the progress achieved in the field of refugee return and integration, in particular on the agreed benchmarks related to the implementation of the housing care programmes for former Occupancy and Tenancy Rights holders. Consequently, the OSCE Permanent Council decided to close the Mission and open an Office in Zagreb with a new mandate.

Tasks

The Office in Zagreb's primary task is to monitor the proceedings related to cases referred to Croatia pursuant to Rule 11 bis of the ICTY's Rules of Procedure and Evidence on behalf of the OSCE as well as on behalf of the Prosecutor of ICTY, in line with Permanent Council Decision No. 673 dated 19 May 2005. The Office will also monitor, as part of the national proceedings followed, all other cases involving ICTY transfers including so-called "Category II" cases as well as all domestic war crimes proceedings initiated at the local level.

The Office will also report on residual aspects of the implementation of the housing care programmes in Croatia.