CROATIA HANDS OVER RATIFICATION DOCUMENTS TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE

ZAGREB, Jan 15 (Hina) - The permanent Croatian representative at the Council of Europe, Ambassador Neven Madey, on Wednesday presented Council of Europe's Secretary-General with the ratification documents of two important European conventions: the Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism and the European Landscape Convention, the Croatian Foreign Ministry reported. #L# Croatia has thus become a contractual party of 57 European conventions, agreements or accompanying Council of Europe protocols, says the ministry. The convention on preventing terrorism facilitates the extradition of perpetrators of terrorist acts. It stipulates that major offences such as hijacking an aeroplane and kidnapping people, holding hostages or the use of grenades, bombs, rockets or armed weapons, letter or package bombs, are not considered political offences, but crimes against life, body and freedom of people. The convention has already been ratified by 38 member countries. The landscape convention should stir local, regional and national authorities to implement the policy and measures of protecting, managing and tidying up European landscapes. (hina) lml sb