VIENNA, June 26 (Hina) - The Permanent Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OCSE) in Vienna of Thursday adopted the decision to extend the OSCE mission mandate in Croatia to the end of 1998, thus
enabling the existing OSCE mission which has been present in Croatia for a year, to effectively and fully take on the earlier agreed on tasks in the Croatian Danube river region after the end of the UN Transitional Administration mandate in the area.
VIENNA, June 26 (Hina) - The Permanent Council of the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OCSE) in Vienna of Thursday adopted
the decision to extend the OSCE mission mandate in Croatia to the end of
1998, thus enabling the existing OSCE mission which has been present in
Croatia for a year, to effectively and fully take on the earlier agreed
on tasks in the Croatian Danube river region after the end of the UN
Transitional Administration mandate in the area. #L#
According to the agreement and UNTAES's exit strategy, regional
European associations are to provide help to Croatia in the completion
of the peaceful reintegration of the Danubian area after 15 January
1998, as part of the OSCE mandate.
Their mission is to be to observe the implementation of adopted
commitments from Croatian legislation and agreements Croatia accepted
both bilaterally and as a member of international organisations.
OSCE will not have any executive authority, but will provide help
for Croatia in the organisation of the return of all displaced persons
and refugees both from and to the Croatian Danubian area.
Besides the activities to date in the fields of human rights,
rights of minorities, development of democratic institutions and
legislature, the OSCE observer mission will, with the cooperation of the
Croatian government, be active in the establishment of mutual trust,
reconstruction and observing of the two-way return and the work of
Croatian organs.
By the end of this year, OSCE is to complete all preparations, and
the OSCE mission is to fully cease simultaneously with the UNTAES
mandate. The OSCE mission's mandate is to last until the end of 1998.
After the adoption of the decision at the OSCE Permanent Council
session, the permanent Croatian representative at the OSCE, Mario
Nobilo, spoke before the Council.
Nobilo recalled the progress Croatia had achieved with the
cooperation of the international community in the peaceful reintegration
of the Croatian Danube river region and Croatia's role as a
stabilisation factor in the region.
Nobilo described OSCE's role in Croatia as "one of the vital
mechanisms for the promotion of reconciliation, confidence-building and
reconstruction".
(hina) lm jn
261908 MET jun 97