OSCE mission in Croatia successfully fulfilled

VIENNA, 15 December 2011 – The 56 OSCE participating States welcomed today the success achieved by the OSCE Office in Zagreb in fulfilling its mandate as well as the progress made by the host country, and decided after 15 years of OSCE field presence in Croatia to close its Office in Zagreb by the end of this year.

The OSCE Office in Zagreb was mandated by the OSCE Permanent Council to monitor and report on domestic war crimes proceedings and to support the country's authorities to enable the people who were displaced during the war to return to their homes. The Permanent Council agreed today in Vienna that the mandate had been fulfilled. The office will end its work on 31 December 2011.

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, welcomed the decision and congratulated Croatia on its progress that has led to the completion of the OSCE presence’s activities.

“In the last 15 years the OSCE has provided support in democratization, protection of human and minority rights, refugee return, war crimes processing, media freedom and to civil society,” said Ažubalis. “Croatia has taken advantage of the OSCE presence for the benefit of its citizens and institutions. This was also recognized last week by the EU as the country signed a treaty to become its newest Member State. As Croatia made progress, over the years the OSCE was able to scale down its engagement. Croatia’s success is also our success.”

The OSCE opened its first field presence in the country, the Mission to Croatia, in April 1996, which at its peak had almost 800 staff members and which was closed at the end of 2007 after successfully completing most of its mandate. The remaining tasks were taken on by the OSCE Office in Zagreb, currently with 19 staff members, which officially began work on 1 January 2008 and will close on 31 December 2011.

"It is a great credit to the government and people of Croatia, and to the dedicated OSCE staff who have worked in the country over the past 15 years, that we are able to mark the successful implementation of the Office's mandate. This is an excellent example of how the OSCE can support its participating States in achieving reforms and ensuring sustainable security," said OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier.

“Today’s decision by the OSCE Permanent Council is exceptional - a decision is normally only required to extend the mandate of a field operation and this agreement by the 56 participating States recognizes our common achievements,” said Ažubalis.

The OSCE will continue to work with the Croatian authorities and NGOs to enhance their capacities on monitoring of war crimes proceedings.