The CoE delegation, led by Anastasia Crickly and Asbjorn Eide, held talks with the chairman of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights, Furio Radin, the chairman of the Committee on Inter-parliamentary Cooperation, Milorad Pupovac, and MP Ivana Sucec Trakostanec, who is a member of the Committee on Human and Minority Rights.
The talks focused on the position of national minorities and the protection of their rights, the implementation of the Constitutional Law on National Minorities, and problems in the implementation of laws pertaining to the rights of national minorities on the level of local self-government units, the statement said.
The CoE officials stressed it was necessary to attach more importance to the representation of national minorities in state administration bodies, notably in the judiciary, and prevent all forms of discrimination.
Stating that problems in the realisation of minority rights existed in some regions, the officials nevertheless agreed that progress had been made over the past several years, notably in the solving of issues such as refugee return, property restitution and other outstanding issues, the statement said.