Croatian democratic institutions made considerable progress, OSCE Mission report says

ZAGREB, 13 June 2006 - Croatia's democratic institutions in the field of civil society, police and media have made considerable progress towards becoming self-sustainable, the OSCE Mission to Croatia says in a report that will be presented to OSCE States in Vienna on Thursday.

"The establishment of a legal, financial and policy framework has given civil society development a strong boost," Ambassador Jorge Fuentes, the Head of the OSCE Mission, told a press conference today. "Media institutions and human rights organizations have now also matured to the point that they can competently assume the Mission's watchdog and advisory role in the near future."

The Mission's report measures progress made by the country since May 2001 and identifies problem areas which need to be addressed by the Croatian authorities. The report in particular singles out post-conflict related issues that have seen slower development, such as refugee return, war crimes trials and minority rights.

"Institutional and legal frameworks must be strengthened and the consistent application of existing laws and regulations must be pressed even if politically sensitive," Ambassador Fuentes said.

The Head of Mission also announced that he would call on the Croatian Government to continue with the "Platform" process, an ongoing consultation mechanism set up earlier this year to identify common objectives and check progress on a monthly basis.

"This negotiation process has proved to be a very effective tool in tackling issues important to both the Mission and the Government," Ambassador Fuentes said. "It could be turned into a joint benchmarking system to maintain the dynamic dialogue established with the Croatian authorities."

The Head of Mission will present the report on Thursday, 15 June, to the 55-nation OSCE Permanent Council.

The report is now available online - please see the link on the right.