OSCE Mission welcomes Croatia's adoption of Minority Law

ZAGREB, 13 December 2002 - The Head of the OSCE Mission, Ambassador Peter Semneby, today welcomed Croatia's adoption of a new Constitutional Law on National Minorities, noting that the adoption of a good minority law has been a longstanding commitment.

"It is now essential that the Constitutional Law is consistently implemented throughout the country," said Ambassador Semneby. "It appears that a largely acceptable solution has been found to the key question of minority representation in Parliament."

Other important elements of the law are those that provide conditions for minority participation in public life on the local and regional level.

The Mission will only be able to provide a detailed comment on the newly adopted law after it has had the chance to carefully study the text.

The next step will be to ensure that the provisions of the Constitutional Law are reflected in the Election Law in a manner that ensures fair procedures for minority representation in Parliament.