OSCE Mission and UN refugee agency organize meeting to encourage uniform implementation of Croatia's Law on Foreigners

OPATIJA, 27 February 2007 - The Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, Ambassador Jorge Fuentes, called today for uniform implementation of the Law on Foreigners to help those who had the status of permanent residing foreigners in Croatia in 1991 acquire Croatian citizenship.

"The Law on Foreigners, when implemented correctly, will help regulate the status of former residents. This is also in line with the priorities set for Croatia in the EU Partnership Agreement," Ambassador Fuentes said.

Fuentes spoke during a two-day meeting organized by the OSCE Mission and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees that brought together relevant ministries officials and civil society representatives in the western Croatian town Opatija.

The meeting aims to harmonize the implementation of the law, which enables former residents who return permanently to Croatia to ultimately acquire Croatian citizenship.

UNHCR Representative Jean Claude Concolato said that since 1998, some 3,700 returnees had been granted legal status in Croatia, while about 900 refugees remained in three neighboring countries.

"This is a manageable problem, which could be easily solved in the spirit of the right to return home," he said. "These people consider Croatia their home and if they have expressed a genuine will to live in this country, the UNHCR strongly believes that it would be more than reasonable to give them legal status and the right of an option to obtain Croatian citizenship."