Serbia improves regional relations and economy, should pursue full ICTY co-operation and continue reforms, says OSCE Mission Head

BELGRADE, 29 March 2007 - Serbia has improved its regional relations and economy, but needs to progress in other areas such as co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), according to the OSCE Mission to Serbia's annual report, presented today by the Head of the Mission, Ambassador Hans Ola Urstad.

The report describes Mission activities in the fields of rule of law and judicial reform, democratization and human rights, police reform, media, economy and environment since March 2006. It also assesses Serbia's political developments over the past year.

"Since my last report a year ago, Serbia has made progress in many areas, but numerous challenges still lie ahead," Urstad said while presenting the report to the 56-country OSCE's Permanent Council.

"The dissolution of the State Union with Montenegro, the adoption of a new Constitution, and Serbia's membership in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme and the Central European Free Trade Agreement illustrate the spectre of the changes.

"Serbia now stands as a transition-phase democracy with an open-market economy. Still, full and unreserved co-operation with the ICTY, better implementation of laws, problems of refugees and internally displaced persons, reforms of the security and police sectors, media regulation and fight against environmental degradation are some of the issues we want to see solved."