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Croatian seminar focuses on including national minorities in decision-making process
ZAGREB 17 March 2006
ZAGREB, 17 March 2006 - Participants at a seminar on national minorities organized by the Croatian Government in Zagreb today stressed the importance of including Croatia's minority groups at all levels of decision-making and improving the co-operation between national minority councils and local and central government.
Ambassador Jorge Fuentes, Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, said local authorities needed to recognize the role of national minorities councils and urged the Government to develop more constructive relations with the local authorities. As a positive example he said that - at the national level - the Government had opened a constructive dialogue with minority parliamentarians.
"Even though Croatia's Constitutional Law on National Minorities is liberal, which is apparent from the provision for local consultative bodies, there is room for improvement", he said.
Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, who opened the two-day seminar, said that his Government paid special attention to the rights of national minorities, by creating conditions for the preservation of their languages and tradition, mother tongue education and development of their own culture.
"The Government wants to establish a dialogue with members of national minorities on a partnership basis, in an open and honest effort to allow for their full participation in the decision-making process", Kosor said.
The seminar was organized by the Government's Office for National Minorities in co-operation with the Council for National Minorities, and was co-sponsored by the OSCE Mission to Croatia. It was attended by over 50 leading minority representatives from Croatia, minority parliamentarians and international organizations.
The conclusions of the seminar will be distributed to the media on Monday, 20 March.
Ambassador Jorge Fuentes, Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, said local authorities needed to recognize the role of national minorities councils and urged the Government to develop more constructive relations with the local authorities. As a positive example he said that - at the national level - the Government had opened a constructive dialogue with minority parliamentarians.
"Even though Croatia's Constitutional Law on National Minorities is liberal, which is apparent from the provision for local consultative bodies, there is room for improvement", he said.
Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, who opened the two-day seminar, said that his Government paid special attention to the rights of national minorities, by creating conditions for the preservation of their languages and tradition, mother tongue education and development of their own culture.
"The Government wants to establish a dialogue with members of national minorities on a partnership basis, in an open and honest effort to allow for their full participation in the decision-making process", Kosor said.
The seminar was organized by the Government's Office for National Minorities in co-operation with the Council for National Minorities, and was co-sponsored by the OSCE Mission to Croatia. It was attended by over 50 leading minority representatives from Croatia, minority parliamentarians and international organizations.
The conclusions of the seminar will be distributed to the media on Monday, 20 March.