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Ministers'
Deputies a. Activities for the development and consolidation of democratic stability
At its meeting on 26 January 2001, the GR-EDS (see synopsis of the meeting, document GR‑EDS(2001)CB2) dealt with:
- the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (see also item 10.5 of the present meeting's agenda); - Armenia and Azerbaijan and - Belarus.
b. Proposal by the Secretary General on a possible expert study of cases of alleged “political prisoners” in Armenia and Azerbaijan
1. Following discussions in the GR-EDS' meeting of 12 January 2001 and in the light of the report of the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers on his visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan (CM/Inf(2001)1) and of the report of the group GT-SUIVI.AGO on the visit to Azerbaijan (GT-SUIVI.AGO(2001)1), the Secretary General proposed that a study of cases of alleged “political prisoners” in Armenia and Azerbaijan be carried out by a group of independent experts.
2. This proposal is based on the so-called “Nørgaard Principles”. It is recalled that, in the late eighties, Professor C.A. Nørgaard, then President of the European Commission of Human Rights, was invited by the United Nations to study cases of alleged “political prisoners” in Namibia and establish a list of prisoners falling into this category on the basis of objective criteria. Professor Nørgaard, accompanied by a former member of the Secretariat of the European Commission of Human Rights, Mr A. Grotrian, stayed in Namibia for a certain period of time and developed so-called “Nørgaard principles”. The exercise was considered successful and the prisoners, who, according to the Nørgaard “ principles” were “political”, were released.
3. The “principles” were subsequently applied to South Africa by the “Truth Commission” following the end of Apartheid.
4. The Secretary General proposed that the same exercise could now be repeated in relation to cases of alleged “political prisoners” in Armenia and Azerbaijan. A group of independent experts could be appointed to visit the countries and inquire into all cases of alleged “political prisoners”. The experts could then establish a list of “political prisoners” on the basis of the “Nørgaard principles” or a new set of “principles” to be defined.
5. The experts should have long-standing experience in human rights issues and a thorough knowledge of Council of Europe principles and standards (such as, for instance, one or more former judge(s) of the European Court of Human Rights or member(s) of the former European Commission of Human Rights).
6. At the meeting of the GR-EDS of 26 January 2001, the Secretary General distributed draft decisions with a view to the appointment of a group of independent experts on the question of alleged “political prisoners”, which would report to the Secretary General.
Several delegations, including that of the Chair of the Monitoring Group on Armenia and Azerbaijan, requested that the experts report directly to the GT-SUIVI.AGO. The Secretary General explained that for legal and financial reasons, the report would have to be submitted to him, but that he would transmit it to the Monitoring Group on receipt. It was decided to prepare draft decisions on this basis (see below).
c. Other questions: Status of Croat national minority in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
See appended “aide-mémoire”, circulated for information on 23 January 2001, at the request of the Permanent Representative of Croatia (Appendix 2).
DRAFT DECISIONS
738th meeting – 31 January 2001
Item 2.1
Current political questions a. Activities for the development and consolidation of democratic stability (CM/Del/Dec(2001)737/1.5 and 2.1a, CM(2000)190 and (2001)11, DSP(2001)2 and 3, GR‑EDS(2001)CB2)
Decisions
The Deputies
1. took note of the report of the Chairman of the Rapporteur Group GR-EDS, in the light of the synopsis of its meeting on 26 January 2001 (GR-EDS(2001)CB2);
2. endorsed the terms of reference of the Secretariat Office in Belgrade (to be annexed to the future exchange of letters between the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Secretary General of the OSCE concerning the cooperation between the two Organisations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), as they appear in Appendix 2 of the above-mentioned synopsis;
3. took note of the proposals for additional cooperation activities with Armenia and Azerbaijan as reproduced respectively in documents DSP(2001)2 and DSP(2001)3.
DRAFT DECISIONS
738th meeting – 31 January 2001
Item 2.1
Current political questions b. Proposal by the Secretary General on a possible expert study of cases of alleged “political prisoners” in Armenia and Azerbaijan (GR‑EDS(2001)CB2)
Decisions
The Deputies
1. decided that, in the context of the specific monitoring procedure for Armenia and Azerbaidjan, cases of alleged “political prisoners” in these countries be transmitted to the Secretary General by Delegations to the Committee of Ministers before 28 February 2001;
2. approved, in this context, the Secretary General's initiative to refer these cases to a group of independent experts whose terms of reference are appended to this decision;
3. requested that the Secretary General submits on a confidential basis the experts' opinion on the referred cases, as soon as available, to the monitoring group GT-SUIVI.AGO.
Appendix 1
Terms of reference provided to a group of independent experts to inquire into cases of alleged “political prisoners” in Armenia and Azerbaijan:
1. The Secretary General, in the context of the specific monitoring procedure for Armenia and Azerbaijan, instructs three independent experts to inquire into cases of alleged “political prisoners” in Armenia and Azerbaijan referred to them.
2. The experts shall prepare a confidential opinion on the said cases indicating whether the persons in question may be defined as “political prisoners” on the basis of objective criteria in the light of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and Council of Europe standards.
3. The experts shall transmit their opinion to the Secretary General by the 30 June 2001.
Appendix 2
Aide-mémoire on the status of Croat national minority in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Number.
According to the last official population census of 1991 a total number of 129.724 Croats have been registered in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( FRY). However, due to the strong assimilation policy and de facto discrimination (through different forms of intimidation and threats, discrimination in the employment sphere etc.) and on the basis of objective criteria, it could be concluded that the real number of Croats living in the country at that time was significantly higher than the official data (about 250.000).
Territories which they inhabit.
The largest part of Croats in the FRY lives on the territory of Vojvodina, while significant number could be found as well on the territory of Serbia proper, Kosovo and in Montenegro in Boka Kotorska.
Croats on the territory of Vojvodina live in all its subregions (Banat, Baèka, Srijem), while numerically strongest community could be found in Baèka. Important number of Croats consider themselves as Bunjevci (one of the two subethnonims for Croats in Vojvodina), mainly due to the strong assimilation policy of the FRY authorities which has been applied hitherto. Croats on the territory of Serbia proper live in bigger towns and cities, while the largest community remains the one in Belgrade. Croats in Kosovo could traditionally be divided into two groups, namely so-called Janjevo Croats (community in the village of Janjevo and its vicinity) as well as so-called Letnica Croats (community in the vicinity of the villages of Letnica and Vrnakolo). Both communities inhabit these territories from 13th century, being remains of the colonies of the former Dubrovnik Republic. As a result of the strong assimilation and discriminatory policy, predominant part of Croats in Kosovo was forced to leave the territories in question during the period between 1991 and 1999. Current number of Croats in formerly biggest community in Janjevo is estimated to be around 300, while according to the latest information, the former community of Letnica Croats has been reduced to only two families. Croats in Montenegro mainly live alongside the coastal area in the region of Boka Kotorska and their number is estimated to be around 10.000 persons.
Legal status of Croat national minority in the FRY.
Croats in the FRY are not recognized as a national minority. Legal status of national minorities in the FRY is regulated by the Constitution of the FRY (of 1992), the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia (of 1990) and the Constitution of the Republic of Montenegro (of 1992). None of the said constitutional acts expressly recognizes the status of national minority to Croats. Although the Constitution of the FRY in its Article 11 recognizes and guarantees certain rights of national minorities, there is no systematic and overall regulation of the protection of national or ethnic minorities in the FRY. Therefore, it might be concluded that the provision of Article 11 of the Constitution of the FRY is merely of a declaratory and not of a constitutive nature. On the other hand, such a provision and corresponding practice incites the subethnic differentiation and identity (e.g. Bunjevci and Šokci), in order to prove the non-existence of ethnic belonging, in this case to Croat ethnic group.
Neither the Constitutions of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro do not enumerate (not even in their preambles) national and ethnic minorities, nor is such an enumeration contained in other legislation at the federal level or the level of respective federal units. All this could mainly be attributed to the historical situation which enabled the Republic of Serbia to be privileged in relation to the other republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, while the former Socialist Republic of Serbia was, unlike other republics, in its Constitution, not defined as a republic of other nations and nationalities besides the Serbian nation.
Certain progress in the status of Croats in the FRY was made in Subotica (Vojvodina), where the local authorities enabled some smaller achievements (possibility of the use of Croatian language at the local level, financial aid to certain cultural activities of Croat minority). Out of all non-Serb communities in the FRY, the position of Croat national community remains the most difficult one, while it has been persistently and systematically exposed to measures aiming at its disappearance. Moreover, Croats in the FRY are not only deprived of minority specific rights but as well of a number of fundamental human rights and freedoms. During the last 10 years such a policy has been proven by a number of crimes, murders and physical injuries committed against members of Croat community, as well as by the forceful taking of properties and destruction of religious objects.
Due to different ways of pressure and open terror almost 50.000 Croats were forced to leave their homes and property in the FRY between 1991 and 1999. The largest part of those refugees come from the territory of Srijem (Vojvodina) and Kosovo.
Education and the use of language and script.
By virtue of non-recognition of Croat community as a national minority, Croats in the FRY do not enjoy neither the right to education in their own language (this includes education at all levels) nor the right to use their language and script in the official and public sphere. The only exception exist in the town of Subotica where the official use of Croatian language is guaranteed by the provisions of the statute. Thus, in majority of cases the use of Croatian language is limited to the private sphere as well as the use in the framework of religious ceremonies in Catholic churches. Political parties.
On the territory of Vojvodina there are two registered political parties (Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina and Croatian National Party) that mainly gather persons belonging to Croat community with the primary goal of the promotion of the interests of Croats through participation in the decision-making processes. At the elections held on 24 September 2000 both of the parties have won the elections in coalition with the other parties of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS). Out of 67 representatives in the Municipal Assembly of Subotica 16 belong to parties which represent the interests of Croats, while pursuant to the agreement reached within DOS, two seats in the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina have been reserved for the parties representing Croat community.
Associations and Organisations.
Associations and organisations of Croats in Vojvodina have formed in 1997 the FORUM of Croat Institutions and Organisations in Vojvodina, an umbrella-organisation which acts as a main channel for profiling of the interests of Croat community on this territory. However, due to the non-recognized status of Croat minority, all cultural activities are organised solely on the amateur basis, while no financial means are allocated from the state budget for these purposes.
Media.
Croats in the FRY do not have their programme in Croat language on state-owned radio and TV channels. At the end of 1998, Radio Subotica established the Croat Editorial, which daily produces a one-hour programme in Croatian language. Regrettably, further activities of this Editorial are put into question mainly due to the lack of financial resources. No daily newspapers in Croatian language are produced in the FRY.
Bilateral agreements between Croatia and the FRY in respect of the protection of minority rights.
In August 1996 Croatia and the FRY signed the Agreement on the Normalization of Relations between the two countries. Article 8 of this Agreement provides for the obligations of both signatories to guarantee all rights contained in the relevant treaties to Croats in the FRY as well as Serbs and Montenegrins in Croatia respectively. However, to this date the FRY has not implemented said obligation. In April 1996, Croatian Government elaborated a draft bilateral agreement of the protection of minorities, which has been communicated to the FRY authorities for possible comments and reaction. No answer whatsoever has been received to date from the FRY authorities in respect of this initiative.
Possible activities of international organisations in respect of the full implementation of minority rights protection standards in the FRY.
The Government of Montenegro currently shows certain readiness for the gradual solution of the status of Croat minority, while at the same time encouraging the creation of a positive attitude towards minority groups in public. However, even after the occurrence of political changes in the FRY (September 2000) and Serbia (December 2000), the new authorities have not yet completely defined their attitude and policy towards national minorities, in particular in respect of the change of status of the Croat national minority. In this context, the role of relevant international organisations (UN, Council of Europe, OSCE) will be of crucial importance in the light of the promotion of international standards related to the protection of minorities in the FRY (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Copenhagen Document on the Human Dimension etc.), guarantees of full implementation of such standards by the authorities of the FRY as well as the achievement of full compatibility of Yugoslav legislation with the standards in question.
In the light of the forthcoming ratification of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (as the sole international treaty solely devoted to the protection of minority rights) by the FRY, it is expected that the Council of Europe will play a key role as regards the starting of the process of full implementation of minority specific rights in the FRY, particularly through the process of harmonisation of national legislation and practice with the relevant international instruments.
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