OSCE Mission welcomes Croatia's refugee return policy, calls for further action

ZAGREB, 6 June 2004 - A report issued by the OSCE Mission to Croatia today welcomed the Croatian Government's commitment on refugee return and reconciliation and calls for further action to put this policy into practice.

The Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, Ambassador Peter Semneby, emphasized at a press conference held in Zagreb today that efforts made by the new Government to fulfill the Mission's mandate have been significant since the release of the previous report last December.

"The Government has committed itself to achieving greater progress on remaining post-conflict issues, in particular, promoting the reintegration of Serb refugees, minority rights, co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and regional co-operation," said Ambassador Semneby.

"In most cases, the Government has now articulated appropriate responses or put in place mechanisms to address outstanding mandate issues, but many of these approaches must still be tried and tested," he said.

"On refugee return, progress has been noted on the repossession and reconstruction of private property, while the most significant obstacle to return remains the issue of housing to those refugees who lived in socially owned housing with occupancy/tenancy rights (OTR) and wish to return to Croatia."

Regarding domestic war-crime prosecutions, the report states that additional reforms and actions are needed in order to ensure a uniform standard of criminal responsibility and a single standard of justice for all victims.

The 22-page report by the Mission outlines progress made by Croatia in areas covered by the Mission's mandate. This includes refugee return, rule of law, reintegration and restitution of property, freedom of the media, police reform and the state of civil society.

"While concrete action remains to be taken on many cases, the political groundwork laid out by the current Government cannot be underestimated. The Government is now able to achieve a great deal if it maintains its commitment to these issues," concluded Peter Semneby.

The Mission's report will be presented by Ambassador Semneby to the 55-nation OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday, 8 July.