MAASTRICHT: CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SPEAKS AT OSCE CONFERENCE

ZAGREB/MAASTRICHT, Dec 2 (Hina) - Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula on Tuesday addressed the participants of the OSCE's 11th ministerial conference in Maastricht, the Netherlands, informing them of Croatia's position on global security issues in the 21st century and the struggle against people trafficking. #L# The two-day OSCE conference, held under the chairmanship of Dutch Foreign Minister and future NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, pooled representatives of 55 OSCE members and ten partner countries. Picula told Hina over the phone that he informed the present that the Croatian government had set up a national committee for the prevention of people trafficking and adopted a plan for the prevention thereof as well as appropriate amendments to the Penal Code. "By doing so, Croatia has contributed to its own stability, as well as to the stability of Southeast Europe," Picula said. He said that alongside organised crime, people trafficking was one of the biggest threats to stability in the region. "Croatia is an exception in this. We see ourselves as part of the efforts the EU and the international community made to help this part of Europe," Picula said. A ministerial declaration most likely will not be adopted at the Maastricht conference, attended by 55 OSCE member countries from Europe, central Asia and North America and ten Asian and Mediterranean partner countries, due to different positions of some members regarding people trafficking. Picula said, however, action plans and strategies aimed at improving the situation with people trafficking would be adopted at the meeting. The Maastricht conference is attended mostly by OSCE foreign ministers, including US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. The meeting also focused on regional conflicts, the struggle against terrorism, and the promotion of tolerance and religious freedoms. (hina) it sb