ZAGREB, Sept 16 (Hina) - Croatia has made considerable progress withregard to minorities' normative rights as a result of implementationof the Constitutional Law on Minority Rights, read conclusions adoptedat the end of a two-day
seminar on the implementation of the FrameworkConvention on the Protection of National Minorities, organised inSplit by the Office for National Minorities and the Council of EuropeAdvisory Committee.
ZAGREB, Sept 16 (Hina) - Croatia has made considerable progress
with regard to minorities' normative rights as a result of implementation of
the Constitutional Law on Minority Rights, read conclusions adopted at the end
of a two-day seminar on the implementation of the Framework Convention on the
Protection of National Minorities, organised in Split by the Office for
National Minorities and the Council of Europe Advisory Committee.
The progress particularly refers to the education of national minorities, their
cultural autonomy, participation in decision-making, cross-border cooperation
with countries populated by the parent nations of national minorities, and the
signing of bilateral agreements.
It is stressed in the conclusions that the implementation of the
national program for the Roma community and the 2005-2015 action plan for the
social integration of the Roma has led to significant improvements in the
status of the Roma community, especially with regard to education, status
issues and creation of conditions for cultural autonomy and better living
conditions.
The conclusions stress the importance of amending election legislation
and ordering voter lists to ensure the full integration of national minorities
into Croatia's political life.