Implementation of Croatian Constitutional Law on national minorities must improve, OSCE conference assesses

ZAGREB, 18 October 2005 - A first review of the implementation of the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities was the focus of a conference held today in Zagreb by the OSCE Mission to Croatia.

Chairing the conference, Ambassador Jorge Fuentes, Head of the OSCE Mission, said that the Law was generous and liberal, and that it could be a reference in the region.

"The main problem, however, is in its implementation. Naturally, more time is needed for the Law to be fully carried out," he said.

Participants identified the shortcomings and further measures to be taken in the protection of minorities' political rights, their representation in state administration, police and judiciary, the right to education in the minorities' own languages, as well as their treatment in the media.

One of the major shortcomings identified was the lack of legal clarification for calculating minority quotas in local assemblies and replacement procedures for minority councillors.

The conference was attended by some 100 leading representatives of the different minorities living in Croatia, as well as of State institutions, political parties, civil society and international organizations.

The Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities was adopted by the Croatian Parliament with a cross-party consensus in 2002, providing a comprehensive framework for the treatment of the country's 22 minorities.