OSCE Office in Zagreb

1. Basic Decisions

Establishment:

Permanent Council, 21 December 2007, PC.DEC/836

Terms of reference:

The Permanent Council recalls the Decisions:
- Nos. 112 dated 18 April 1996 on the establishment of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, and 176 dated 26 June 1997 on its expansion and reinforcement.
- Nos. 271 dated 19 November 1998, 327 dated 9 December 1999, 345 dated 23 March 2000, 396 dated 14 December 2000, 455 dated 21 December 2001, 514 dated 12 December 2002, 578 dated 18 December 2003, 644 dated 16 December 2004, 695 dated 17 November 2005, and 748 dated 23 November 2006 on the progressive downsizing of the Mission.

The Permanent Council notes:
- The positive resolution of outstanding issues in the field of Rule of Law such as the increased State funding to the Constitutional Court and Ombudsman, as well as the continuous implementation of minority employment guarantees of the Constitutional Law on National Minorities,
- The latest Status Report (No.18/Ref No. FR/0017/07) of the OSCE Mission to Croatia outlining 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.

The Permanent Council decided to:

- Close the OSCE Mission to Croatia and to establish an Office in Zagreb.

2. Tasks

- The Office in Zagreb is primarily tasked 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.

In carrying out its tasks the Office will closely work with government offices and non-governmental bodies and offices as appropriate. The Office will facilitate contacts, co-ordinate activities and promote information exchange with the Chairman-in-Office, Secretariat and OSCE institutions. It will also co-operate with international and regional partners. The OSCE Office in Zagreb will report to the Permanent Council on a regular basis on the implementation of the mandate and the activities of the Office. In its reporting, the confidentiality of the proceedings and the protection of victims and witnesses,as foreseen by the ICTY Statute and its "Rules of Procedure and Evidence", as well as the respective rules of the Croatian courts, shall be fully respected.

3. Deployment

The Office will be located in Zagreb. It will be led by a Head of Office assisted by an adequate number of international staff supported by national staff to implement the above-mentioned tasks in an appropriate way. The Head of Office has the authority to assign staff as she/he deems necessary to most effectively support Croatia in the completion of tasks under the mandate.

The Head of Office (since 1st January 2008) is Ambassador Jorge Fuentes Monzonís-Vilallonga of Spain.

4. Duration

The duration of the Office will be until 31 December 2008. Extensions and possible changes of its mandate will be subject to new decisions of the Permanent Council.