December 2010

- 17 December, Zagreb: President of the Center for Peace - Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, participated in a roundtable organized by the Office of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Croatia, the government's Office for National Minorities and the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Croatia "Free Legal Aid for Roma in regulating the legal status in Croatia - achievements and challenges ". The purpose of this joint roundtable was to discuss the findings observed during the implementation of the project "Free Legal Aid to Roma in resolving the legal status" (implemented by the Office of the Ombudsman) and open the way for future cooperation in this field. Roundtable was attended by numerous governmental officials, Roma NGOs and other civil society organizations.

- 15 December, Vukovar: Representatives of the Center for Peace - Vukovar participated in a public discussion on the implementation of the Law on Combating Discrimination and possible forms of cooperation with civil society organizations and social partners, organized by the Office of the Ombudsman and the UN Agency for Development Programmes (UNDP) within the framework of the project "Strengthening capacities of the Ombudsman institution". The public discussion was attended by representatives of civil society organizations, trade unions, media and other social partners.
- 13 – 14 December, Belgrade (Serbia): Representatives of the Center for Peace - Vukovar participated at the 5th Western Balkan meeting of civil society organizations dealing with issues of refugees and internally displaced persons. The meeting was organized within the framework of the regional project Support to civil society in finding durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced persons in the Western Balkans, implemented by Group 484, Belgrade with the support of OSCE Mission in Serbia.

- 4 - 5 December, Bizovačke spa: Center for Peace - Vukovar, organized a seminar for Roma organizations and institutions on capacity building, informal coalitions, drafting project proposals and applying for financial aid, within the framework of project „2010 / 2011 Capacity building program for Roma minority leaders and representatives to advocate for minority rights”. In practical terms, the seminar was dedicated to the development of joint project proposal that would encourage members of the Roma to declare their affiliation to a minority during the next population Census in the Republic of Croatia in the spring of 2011. The seminar was attended by 12 representatives and activists of Roma NGOs in Croatia. Lecturers and speakers at the seminar were Ms. Aleksandra Bojadžieva, independent consultant and member of the Advisory Board of the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities; Mr. Nadir Redžepi, project manager at the Open Society Institute - Budapest; and Mr. Ljubomir Mikić, former president of the Center for Peace - Vukovar. „2010 / 2011 Capacity building program for Roma minority leaders and representatives to advocate for minority rights” is carried out with financial support of the Embassy of Finland in the Republic of Croatia.

November 2010

- 29 November, Osijek: President of the Center for Peace - Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, attended the opening of an exhibition „Who is Reihl Kir to you?", dedicated to the tragic fate of the former Head of the Police authority in Osijek Josip Reihl Kir, followed by the roundtable "Who is Reihl Kir to us today?“ related to the current political authority in Osijek, organized by the Centre for Peace Studies Zagreb in collaboration with the Centre for Peace in Osijek. This event was organized within the framework of the project „Minorities for Minorities: Examples of good practice in inter-ethnic relations in the Western Balkans". The event was opened by former president of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Stjepan Mesić.

28 November – 1 December, 2010, Skopje, Macedonia: Representatives of the Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance Vukovar, Mr. Branislav Tekić and Ms. Ivana Juričević conducted a monitoring visit to the partner organization "Sonce" from Skopje as a result of implementation of the regional program “Advancing inclusion of vulnerable groups in SEE: Minority rights advocacy in the EU accession process”. As part of activities to implement the program, the Centre for Peace - Vukovar discussed the problems and challenges of minority communities and the experiences of promoting and protecting human and minority rights in the Republic of Macedonia with Ms. Aleksandra Bojadžieva, Roma Democratic Development Association SONCE from Skopje, Mrs. Mabera Kamberi, Head of Sector for coordination and technical assistance of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of the Republic of Macedonia and Mr. Emir Redžepi, program coordinator of the Initiative for Social Change "(InSoK) and a member of the "Decade of Roma Inclusion" from Skopje.

- 2 - 4 November, Belgrade (Serbia): Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić and Mr. Branislav Tekić, participated in the 4th meeting of civil society organizations in Western Balkans dealing with issues of refugees and internally displaced persons. The meeting was organized within the framework of the regional project Support to civil society in finding durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced persons in the Western Balkans, implemented by Group 484, Belgrade with the support of the OSCE Mission in Serbia.  

October 2010

- 30 - 31 October, Zagreb: A seminar “Frameworks and mechanisms for the protection of human / minority rights and combating discrimination - UN, OSCE, EU and the national system of the Republic of Croatia” was organized by the Center for Peace – Vukovar within the framework of the 2010 / 2011 Capacity building program for Roma minority leaders and representatives. 19 Roma NGO representatives and activists from the Republic of Croatia participated in the seminar. Lecturers and introductory speakers were Ms. Aleksandra Bojadžieva, member of Council of Europe Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities; Mrs. Snježana Bokulić, OSCE ODIHR Head of Human Rights Department in Warsaw; Mr. Neil Clarke, Head of Minority Rights Group International Europe office in Budapest; Mrs. Ivana Canjuga Bedić, lawyer from Kutina and external associate of the Office of Ombudsman in the project “Social Inclusion: Support to Marginalized Groups”; and Mr. Ljubomir Mikić, former president of the Center for Peace – Vukovar. 2010 / 2011 Capacity building program for Roma minority leaders and representatives is implemented with the financial support of the Embassy of the Republic of Finland in the Republic of Croatia.

- 8 - 11 October, Vukovar: Center for Peace – Vukovar organized the final (evaluation) meeting of NGO representatives participating in the implementation of the 3 year regional project Advancing inclusion of vulnerable groups in SEE: Minority rights advocacy in the EU accession process.In the period from July 2007 – October 2010 the programme was implemented by Minority Rights Group International from London, UK, in cooperation with partner NGOs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.
- 5 October, Warsaw (Poland): Representatives of the informal network of civil society organizations of Western Balkans, dealing with issues of refugees and internally displaced persons and participating in implementing the regional project Support to civil society in finding durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced persons in the Western Balkans, organized a side event at the 2010 Review Conference held in the period 30 September - 8 October, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). Side event was dedicated to the launching of a joint document of civil society organizations Free Legal Aid for Refugees and Displaced Persons in the Territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia.

September 2010

- 15 - 17 September, Belgrade (Serbia): Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić and Mr. Branislav Tekić, participated at the 3rd Western Balkan meeting of civil society organizations dealing with issues of refugees and internally displaced persons. The meeting was organized within the framework of the regional project Support to civil society in finding durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced persons in the Western Balkans, implemented by Group 484, Belgrade with the support of OSCE Mission in Serbia. The main theme of the meeting was drafting a joint document on national legal frameworks which regulate free legal aid provision in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia; the application of the system in practice and the availability of free legal aid to refugees and internally displaced persons.

- 1 September: Center for Peace – Vukovar began the implementation of the project 2010 / 2011 Capacity building program for Roma minority leaders and representatives. In the period September 2010 – April 2011, the project is being implemented with the financial support of the Finnish Embassy in the Republic of Croatia. This programme builds on 2009 FCNM and EC/EU capacity building program for Roma minority leaders and representatives, implemented in the period October 2009 – March 2010, and it represents a continuation of sort.

August 2010

- A web-site of the project PROGReSSED - Program for sustainable socio-economic development of vulnerable groups in eastern Croatia has been activated. The project is undertaken by the Centre for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance - Vukovar in cooperation with the Youth Peace Group - Danube in Vukovar. Project implementation began in June 2010 and is being implemented with financial support of UniCredit Foundation, Italy with planned project duration of 18 months.

The overall project objective is to contribute to socio-economic inclusion of vulnerable groups, particularly unemployed and youth. Specific project objectives are to support professional involvement of unemployed youth into labour market and contribute to improving their skills, competitiveness and professional experiences; provide legal advice and technical support to most vulnerable groups of population, especially the unemployed, youth and persons who lack access to development and other programs at state and local levels and raise the general level of awareness of vulnerable groups.

More information about the project and specific activities you can find at www.progressed.eu

July 2010

- 26 July, Zagreb: Representatives of the Center for Peace - Vukovar, Milena Jurisic and Branislav Tekic, participated in one-day conference on "Access to Justice: Implementation of the Law on Free Legal Aid", organized by the UN Agency for Refugees (UNHCR), Coalition for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia and the Center for Human Rights, within the framework of the UN project. The conference aimed to analyze the current implementation of the Law on Free Legal Aid and find a way to establish an efficient system of free legal assistance in the Republic of Croatia. The conference was attended by key stakeholders in the system of free legal assistance from legislative and enforcement levels, experts and providers of free legal assistance from abroad (Norway, Slovenia) as well as representatives of civil society organizations from the region (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo).

- 12 July, Zagreb: Legal Adviser of the Centre for Peace - Vukovar, Milena Jurisic, participated in the training session "Application of anti-discrimination legislation - the analysis of case studies from the civil law and criminal aspects," organized within the framework of the project "Support to the Implementation of the Law on Combating Discrimination II“. The project is implemented by the Centre for Peace Studies with the help of B.a.B.e., Center for Human Rights, Centre for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance - Vukovar, Centre for Development of Democracy - CERD, Ćakula kroz život and the Croatian Legal Center, which organized the training. The purpose of the training was to raise the technical capacity to prepare for the prosecution of cases of discrimination as well as participation in court proceedings.

- 10 July, Vukovar: Mrs. Raquel Rolnik, UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on adequate housing visited Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance – Vukovar. Legal grounds of the Special Rapporteur's mandate are represented within Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 25, paragraph 1), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 11, paragraph 1), Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 27, paragraph 3), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Article 14) and International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Article 5.). The visit of Mrs. Rolnik was specifically focused on issues of post-war reconstruction of family houses and housing problems in Croatia. Representatives of the Centre for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance - Vukovar provided detailed information to the HRC Special Rapporteur on the problems of citizens in accessing their rights to adequate housing in Croatia. Problems and obstacles in (non)accessing rights on state assistance in reconstruction of family homes and housing assistance for refugees and displaced persons were particularly emphasized.

June 2010

- 29- 30 June, Kovačica (Serbia): Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić and Mr. Branislav Tekić participated in the 2nd meeting of civil society organizations in Western Balkan working on issues of refugees and internally displaced persons. The meeting was organized within the framework of the regional project Support to civil society in finding durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced persons in the Western Balkans, implemented by the Group 484 from Belgrade with the support of Mission of OSCE in Serbia.

- 25 June, Brussels (Belgium): Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar participated in the consultations between the representatives of the European Commission and NGOs. The meeting was dedicated to consideration and review of the remaining problems and progress achieved by the Republic of Croatia in fulfilling political criteria for EU membership in relation to the situation described in the EC Progress Report issued in November 2009. EC representatives were delivered an overview of the progress achieved and the remaining problems in 2010, drafted by the Center for Peace – Vukovar with the contribution, comments and suggestions from the Center for Peace, Non-violence and Human Rights Osijek, Dalmatian Solidarity Committee – Split and Joint Council of Municipalities – Vukovar. The participation of the representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar was organized within the regional project Advancing inclusion of vulnerable groups in SEE: Minority rights advocacy in the EU accession process.

- 17 June, Pakrac: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Milena Jurišić, participated in a roundtable discussion organized on the occasion of World Refugee Day by the Coalition for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. The refugee issue was discussed through the presentation of the UNHCR on refugee problems in the region and the presentation of civil society organizations, the Regional Office for ASSC (Area of Special State Concern) Pakrac and through the individual experiences of returnees.

- 10- 11 June, Copenhagen (Denmark): Upon the invitation from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the representative of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Ljubomir Mikić (Assembly member and the former President of the Center), participated in the conference 20 years of the OSCE Copenhagen Document: Status and Future Perspectives. The conference was organized by the ODIHR and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

Joint statement of the NGO representatives presented at the conference

 - 5– 6 June, Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina): Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar participated in the coordination meeting of partner organizations implementing the 3 year programme: Advancing inclusion of vulnerable groups in SEE: Minority rights advocacy in the EU accession process. The programme is implemented by the Minority Rights Group International from London, United Kingdom, in cooperation with local partners from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.

May 2010

- 26 May, Vukovar: Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar participated in the public discussion “First experiences in the process of implementation of the Law on Combating Discrimination”. The public discussion was organized by the Committee for the Protection of Human Rights of the Joint Council of Municipalities – Vukovar and was attended by 25 NGO representatives from Vukovar area.

- 25 May, Vukovar: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Milena Jurišić, participated in the round table discussion „National minorities and the media – presentation and possibilities of using the media“, organized by B.a.B.e. and GORD - Dalj. The aim of this round table discussion was to discuss the problems of national minorities in the local media scope through an open dialogue and public debate with the authorities, institutions and NGOs. This round table is one of the activities under the project "Bridging troubled waters - listen to the majority and minority voices on the air."

- 21 May, Osijek: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Milena Jurišić, participated  in the course of consultations during which results of the research of the civil society assessment in Osijek-Baranja, Vukovar-Sirmium, Brodsko-Posavina, Virovitičko-podravska and Požeško-Slavonia County were introduced. The purpose of these consultations was to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the civil society in Croatia, with special emphasis on regional and local specificities. The consultation was organized by the Centre for Development of non-profit organizations within the framework of the research project „CIVICUS - Civil Society Index in Croatia 2009-2010“.

- 12 May, Vukovar: Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance  – Vukovar organized a public presentation of the Shadow Report on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which was produced early 2010 within the 3rd monitoring cycle of the implementation of this international treaty in the Republic of Croatia. The presentation was opened by Mr. Đorđe Ćurčić, Deputy Prefect of Vukovarsko-Sirmium County. Amongst 60 participants of this event, including representatives of minority institutions and organizations, were also Mr. Dejan Palić, Deputy Ombudsmen of the Republic of Croatia, Mrs. Bahrija Sejfić, Deputy Head of Office for National Minorities of the Republic of Croatia and Mr. Predrag Šipka, Deputy Head of Office for Human Rights of the Republic of Croatia. During the launch another Shadow Report produced by the representatives of Roma NGOs and the Center for Implementation of Integration in the EU was presented.

(Photo: Joint Council of Municipalities, taken from www.zvo.hr)

 - 6 May, Vukovar: On the occasion of the Center for Peace – Vukovar production and public presentation of the Shadow Report on Implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, sent to the Council of Europe in the early 2010, an independent TV production of the Joint Council of Municipalities - Vukovar organized an interview with Mrs. Ankica Mikić, president of the Center. The interview was broadcasted on the weekly show „Chronicles of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium“, which is broadcasted on the TV Vojvodina Channel 1 and the Radio-Television Serbia satellite television program.

April 2010

- 29 April, Belgrade (Serbia): President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, participated in the initial meeting of the Western Balkan civil society organizations dealing with issues of refugees and internally displaced persons. The meeting was organized within the regional project Support to civil society in finding durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced persons in the Western Balkans, implemented bythe Group 484 from Belgrade with the support of Mission of OSCE in Serbia.

- 21 April: Legal adviser of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Branislav Tekić, participated in Borovo Radio broadcast dedicated to the problems of former tenancy rights owners and the recognition of their acquired rights. The radio broadcast was organized on the occasion of the public presentation of the policy paper Serb Refugees: Forgotten by Croatia?, produced by theEuropean Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) from Brussels in cooperation with the Group 484 from Belgrade and the Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance - Vukovar. The policy paper was publicly launched on 28 March 2010 in Brussels.

- 19 April: Center for Peace – Vukovar submitted a written submission to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) within the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism. The UPR is a UN human rights mechanism, established by the UN General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006. Through the UPR, the Human Rights Council (HRC) reviews, on a periodic basis, the fulfillment by each of the United Nations’ 192 Member States of their human rights obligations and commitments. HRC resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007 provides that the UPR should ensure the participation of all relevant stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions. HRC decision 6/102 of 27 September 2007 sets out General Guidelines for the preparation of information under the UPR. These Guidelines are available at: http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/sdpage_e.aspx?b=10&se=69&t=3
The review of the state of human rights under the UPR mechanism in the Republic of Croatia will be considered during the ninth session of the Working Group on the UPR in December 2010.

Center for Peace – Vukovar UPR submission

- 8 April, Vukovar: Representatives of the Center for Peace Vukovar attended a meeting of NGOs from Easter Slavonia with Mr. Thomas Hammerbergom, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe.

March 2010

- 30 March, Brussels (Belgium): Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar attended a partner organizations meeting under the tree-years program Advancing inclusion of vulnerable groups in SEE: Minority rights advocacy in the EU accession process.

On the same day, representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar met with the representatives of the European Commission country desk for Croatia. The discussion with the EC representatives was devoted to current status of human rights in Croatia, with an emphasis on the problems of returns and the process of accessing rights of refugees and persons belonging to national minorities, as well as difficulties in exercising their right to free legal aid and the functioning of the rule of law in Croatia.

- 24 March, Brussels (Belgium): The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) organized the promotion of the policy paper Serb Refugees: Forgotten by Croatia? The document was produced in cooperation with Group 484 from Belgrade and Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance - Vukovar, which focuses on the most important and outstanding issue affecting refugees, former tenancy/occupancy rights owners of socially-owned apartments from the Republic of Croatia – loss and non-recognition of acquired rights stemming from the legal institution of tenancy right.

The launching of this policy paper was held at the Residence Palace in Brussels with leading speakers and panellists: Mr. Miodrag Shrestha, Group 484 Executive Director, Serbia; Branislav Tekić, Legal Advisor of the Center for Peace - Vukovar; John Andrew Young, Senior Protection Officer, Policy and Legal Advice Unit, UNHCR, UNHCR; and Bjarte Vandvik, ECRE Secretary General..

Serb Refugees: Forgotten by Croatia?

- 2 March, Ilok: President of the Center for Peace, Mrs. Ankica Mikić participated in a meeting/ working lunch with the Ambassadors and representatives of Nordic Embassies (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) during their visit to the Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Sirmium Counties. The president of the Center for Peace presented the work of the Center and explained the activities the Center plans to implement during 2010.

February 2010

- 23 February: Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, together with the associates coming from national minority, held a meeting with the members of the Advisory Committee delegation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities during their visit to the Republic of Croatia within the 3rd monitoring cycle of the FCNM implementation in the Republic of Croatia.

- 19 February: Center for Peace – Vukovar delivered the “Shadow report” on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities 2004-2010 to the Secretariat of the FCNM of the Council of Europe. The Report was produced within the 3rd monitoring cycle of the FCNM implementation in the Republic of Croatia.

Shadow report on the implementation of the Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia, 3rd monitoring cycle 2004-2010

- 18 February, Dalj: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Milena Jurišić, attended the public discussion on the occasion of the book launch “The Roads of Discrimination” published by B.a.B.e organization. The book is dedicated to the research conducted also in the Area of Special State Concern and related to the implementation of the Law on Combating Discrimination.

- 4 February, Zagreb: President of the Center for Peace, Mrs. Ankica Mikić participated in the public discussion and attended the workshop related to the UN system of human rights protection, organized by the Center for Human Rights. The public discussion was dedicated to informing the participants on the UN system of human rights protection and the exchange of opinions on the 2009 Recommendation of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination (CERD) and the Human Rights Committee (HRC) for Croatia. The workshop on the UN Universal Periodical Review (UPR) mechanism for NGOs and national institutions for human rights protection was conducted after the public discussion.  

January 2010

December 2009

- 18 December, Vukovar: Center for Peace – Vukovar submitted a statement to the Ministry of Justice on the proposed changes of the procedure for exercising the right to free legal aid.

Text of the statement

- 17 December, Vukovar: Legal Advisor of the Center for Peace - Vukovar, Mrs. Milena Jurišić, together with one of the beneficiaries of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, gave a statement for the RTL Television cover-story on the issue of problems in the process of implementation of the Legal Free Aid  Law, which will be broadcasted on RTL television.

- 16 December, Osijek: President of the Center for Peace, Ms. Ankica Mikić, participated in the workshop for the councils and representatives of national minorities in Osijek. The workshop was organized by the Coalition for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, within the framework of the project “The role and possibilities of modern technology in the service of promotion and protection of human rights“, financially supported by the Town of Osijek. President of the Center for Peace presented the results of the analysis on the status of respect for fundamental human rights of persons belonging to national minorities and the exercise of their special rights and freedoms, the status of (non)discrimination, and the level of integration of national minorities and inter-ethnic tolerance in the town of Osijek.

Analyses

- 14 December, Zagreb: Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar took part in the work of the annual Assembly of the Coalition for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.

- 12 December, Zagreb: Center for Peace – Vukovar organized the first workshop dedicated to the participation of NGOs in the monitoring process of FCNM implementation within the FCNM and EC/EU capacity building program for Roma minority leaders and representatives. 11 representatives and activists of Roma NGOs from the Republic of Croatia participated in the workshop. Ms. Aleksandra Bojadžieva and Mr. Nadir Redžepi, activists from Roma NGO “Sonce” from Tetovo (Macedonia) took part in the workshop as lecturers. The programme is implemented with the financial support of the Embassy of the Republic of Finland in the Republic of Croatia.

- 10 December, Zagreb: President of the Center for Peace, Ms. Ankica Mikić, attended the round-table on the issue of legal obstacles to the permanent solution of refugee issues in the region; obstacles related to the process of return, reintegration and local integration. This regional round-table was organized by the Office of UNHCR in Croatia and was attended by UNHCR implementing and operational partners from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia.

November 2009

- 23 November, Zagreb: President of the Center for Peace, Ms. Ankica Mikić, attended the roundtable discussion on the draft amendments of the Croatian Constitution. The round table was held in the Croatian Parliament and was organized by 8 Croatian non-governmental organizations.

- 18 November, Zagreb: President of the Center for Peace, Ms. Ankica Mikić, participated in the public debate on progress in implementing the National Program of protection and promotion of human rights 2008 - 2011. Public debate was organized by the Center for Human Rights and Human Rights Office of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

- 17-18 November, Osijek: Legal Advisor of the Center for Peace - Vukovar, Ms. Milena Jurišić, participated in the strategic planning meeting of the Coalition for the promotion and protection of human rights.

- 14 -15 November, Zagreb: Center for Peace – Vukovar organized, within the FCNM and EC/EU capacity building program for Roma minority leaders and representatives, a seminar ‘’Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities and the European Commission / European Union”. The seminar was organized with financial support from the Embassy of the Republic of Finland in Croatia, with the participation of lecturers from Finland, Great Britain, Macedonia, and 16 representatives of Roma activists and NGOs from the Republic of Croatia.

- 10 November, Vukovar: Legal Advisor of the Center for Peace - Vukovar, Ms. Milena Jurišić, attended the public presentation of results of research ‘’Human Rights in Primary Schools - Theory and Practice" conducted by the Center for Human Rights from Zagreb, with the aim of promoting human rights in primary schools across Croatia.

 - 6 November, Vukovar: Legal Advisors of the Center for Peace - Vukovar, Ms. Milena Jurišić and Mr. Branislav Tekić, appeared in the radio broadcast of Croatian Radio Vukovar ‘’Magazin 107.2’’. Theme issue was the application of the Law on Free Legal Aid. The legal advisers of the Center, among other things, presented to the public the content of  the Analysis of the implementation of the Law on  Free Legal Aid  produced by the Center for Peace - Vukovar in September 2009.
 

October 2009

- 23 October, Zagreb: President of the Center for Peace, Ms. Ankica Mikić, participated in the roundtable discussion ‘’Experiences in applying the Law on Free Legal Aid", organized by the Croatian Ministry of Justice.

 - 1 October: Centar for Peace – Vukovar launched the FCNM and EC/EU capacity building program for Roma minority leaders and representatives. The project, in the period October / October 2009th - March / March 2010th, will be carried out with financial support from the Embassy of the Republic of Finland in Croatia.

 Septembar 2009

- Center for Peace – Vukovar signed with Serbian National Council the Protocol on cooperation in research and documenting the war and post-war developments in Croatia in period 1991 - 2002

- 11 September, Vukovar: Center for Peace – Vukovar published an Analysis of the Free Legal Aid Act, which will also be submitted to the Ministry of Justice and the Office for NGOs of the government of the Republic of Croatia.

 - 10 September, Zagreb: Legal advisor of the Center, Mrs. Milena Jurisic, participated in education of representatives of NGOs authorized for the provision of primary legal aid, organized by the Ministry of Justice -  Directorate for the European Union and Human Rights. The purpose of the education was to inform NGO representatives on the application of the Free Legal Aid Act as well as the compilation of quarterly and annual reports NGOs are required to submit.

- 1 September, Geneva (Switzerland): IDMC (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre) published the new report on internally displaced persons in Croatia.

Overview: Croatia: Housing rights and employment still preventing durable solutions

http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/(httpInfoFiles)/1D3E3F5B65ED9F49C1257624003D3D84/$file/croatia_Overview_Sep09.pdf

Croatia – full profile of the internal displacement situation

http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/(httpInfoFiles)/C5AD82601A910291C12576240049F2EC/$file/Croatia_September_2009.pdf

August 2009

June 2009

- 23 June, Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina): Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Branislav Tekić, participated at the 2nd coordination meeting of partner organizations involved in the implementation of the regional project Strategic Litigation on Antidiscrimination and Minority Rights in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo. The projectis being implemented by Minority Rights Group International from London, United Kingdom in cooperation with the Center for Peace – Vukovar and Movimento por la Paz, el Disarme y la Libertad (MPDL) from Spain, with local offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. The implementation of the project was initiated in May 2008 with the support of the Open Society Institute in Budapest. 

- 16 June, Supetar on the island of Brač: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Milena Jurišić, participated in the forum-seminar „Building trust – a road to development of communities in the Area of Special State Concern“, implemented within the framework of the project of the same name financed by the European Commission and co-financed by UNHCR. The project is implemented by MI organization from Split in cooperation with u CFOR „Force for Change“from London, UK.

- 20 June: Center for Peace– Vukovar and the Coalition for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights marked the World Refugee Day. On the occasion of this day, Center for Peace and the Coalition addressed the media and the public.

Public statement on the occasion of the World Refugee Day (Croatian)

- 9 June, Osijek: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Milena Jurišić, participated in the public presentation of the Calendar of the announcement of tenders and calls for interests in 2009, organized by the National Foundation for Civil Society Development for 50 representatives of civil society organizations from Slavonija and Baranja. Various civil society organizations representatives had the opportunity to get information on procedures, criteria, conditions and priorities of each tender and call for cooperation in 2009.

- 8 June, Brussels (Belgium): On behalf of the Coalition for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar Mrs. Ankica Mikić participated in the consultations with representatives of the European Commission. The meeting was dedicated to consideration and review of the remaining problems and progress achieved by the Republic of Croatia in fulfilling political criteria for EU membership in relation to the situation described in the EC Progress Report issued in November 2008. A few days prior to the meeting, EC representatives were delivered an overview of the progress achieved and the remaining problems in 2009. Comments and suggestions to the final version of the drafted overview was contributed by the Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance - Vukovar; Center for Peace, Non-violence and Human rights – Osijek; Center for Civil Initiatives – Poreč; Serb Democratic Forum – Zagreb; Kulin-ban organization – Zagreb; and CERD (Center for Democracy Development) – Split. Preparations and participation of the representative of the Center for Peace – Vukovar and the Coalition for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights at the consultation meeting were enabled with the support of King Baudoin Foundation from Brussels.

Overview of the progress of the Republic of Croatia and remaining problems in fulfilling political criteria for the EU membership in 2009

 May 2009

- 25 May, Zagreb: Center for Peace – Vukovar signed a contract with the Ministry of Justice referring to the financing of free legal aid which will be provided by the Center to citizens in need in 2009. The contract provides funds to the Center in the amount of 86,400.00 HRK.

- 20 May, Vukovar: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Milena Jurišić gave an interview for the radio programme “Attention – woman speaking” broadcasted on the Croatian Radio Vukovar on the topic of women and free legal aid.

 April 2009

March 2009

- 11 - 15 March, Kotor (Montenegro): Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar attended  3rd regional partner organizations meeting under the tree-years program Advancing inclusion of vulnerable groups in SEE: Minority rights advocacy in the EU accession process.The program is realized in period July 2007 – June 2010 by the Minority Rights Group International, United Kingdom, in cooperation with local partners from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.

- 4 March, Vukovar: On the occasion of the proclamation of the Law on Combating Discrimination in the Republic of Croatia Center for Peace – Vukovar organized a round table „Role of NGOs in the implementation of the Law on Combating Discrimination“. The general aim of the round table was to promote the Law on Combating Discrimination, familiarize the round table participants with responsibilities of the Ombudsman as a Central body responsible for the suppression of discrimination, establish and strengthen the cooperation with social partners and civil society organizations as well as to clarify the role of NGOs as interveners in judicial proceedings.  Participants of the round table were representatives of the Office for Human Rights of the government of the Republic of Croatia and the Office of Ombudsman; representatives of county and municipal courts; county offices for human rights; NGOs dealing with protection and promotion of human rights; coordination, councils and representatives of national minorities; unions; employer’s associations; religious organizations as well as other organization dealing with protection of rights of groups exposed to a high risk of discrimination in the area of Vukovar-Srijem and Osijek-Baranja Counties. Mr. Luka Mađerić, head of the Office for Human Rights of the government of the Republic of Croatia; Mrs. Silvija Trgovec Greif, advisor of the Ombudsman; and Mr. Branislav Dimitrijević, judge at the County Court in Vukovar gave the introductory statements.

The round table was organized within the framework of the regional project Strategic litigation on Anti-discrimination and Minority Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo, financially supported by the Open Society Institute in Budapest and implemented by MRGI – Minority Rights Group International, United Kingdom; Center for Peace – Vukovar and Regional MPDL project (El Movimiento por la Paz), Spain.

February 2009

January 2009

- 26 January, Zagreb: Legal Advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, participated in the work of the conference„Ombudsman as a central body for combating discrimination” organized by the Office of Ombudsman in cooperation and financially supported by the UNDP Mission in Zagreb on the occasion of the beginning of implementation of the Anti-discrimination Law (taking effect on January 1, 2009).

- 22 January, Vukovar: A regular, biennial session of the Assembly of the Center for Peace – Vukovar was held, during which a new President of the Center was elected for the period of next two years - Mrs. Ankica Mikić. The Assembly of the Center also issued a Decision on amendments of the Statute of the Center, adding the term “providing free legal aid” to the activities of the Center.

- 21 January, Zagreb :Legal Advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, participated in the work of the advisory meeting of the Ministry of Justice and the Office for NGOs of the government of the Republic of Croatia, together with representatives of civil society organizations on the topic of the implementation of the Free Legal Aid Act. The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Justice and the Office for NGOs of the government of the Republic of Croatia and was held in the premises of the Croatian Parliament.

- 19.-20 January, Istanbul (Turkey): Representative of the Center for Peace - Vukovar, Miss. Ivana Juričević, participated in the work of the 2nd Regional NGO Consultation Seminar on the Code of Good Practice on Civil Participation. The conference was co-organized by the Third Sector Foundation (TUSEV), Turkey, Conference of international NGOs of the Council of Europe and the Council of Europe. The conference was a follow-up to discussions carried out at the Forum for the Future of Democracy, held in Stockholm / Sigtuna in 2007 and the 1st regional consultation conference held in Stockholm in 2008, with the general aim to contribute development of the European Code of Good Practice for Civil Participation in the Council of Europe member-states and Belarus. 

December 2008

-  5 December, Zagreb: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar Mr. Branislav Tekić, participated in a meeting of the representatives of national NGOs dealing in the protection of human rights as well as representatives of the European network for combating racism (ENAR). The purpose of this initial meeting was to motivate the establishment of a National coordination of the European network for combating racism in the Republic of Croatia. The meeting was organized by ENAR and the Croatian Legal Center.

- 5 December, Vukovar: A public meeting “How we live the human rights – Vukovar today” was organized by the Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance  and Citizens Forum Tuzla NGO within the framework of a regional project “How to reach the truth”  supported by the Dutch Foundation IKV PAX CHRISTI. The public meeting was held on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, while its primary aim was to consider social, economic and cultural rights of Vukovar citizens. The public meeting was attended by the representatives of the civil sector, local authorities and the media, whilst the panelists were Mr. Drago Hedl, journalist and Mr. Jaroslav Pecnik from the Croatian Helsinki Committee.

- 1 December, Brussels (Belgium): Associate of the Center for Peace – Vukovar Mrs. Jelena Josić participated in a meeting organized with the representatives of the EC on the occasion of the publishing of the annual EC Progress Reports on SEE countries in 2008. Representatives of NGO organizations – partners of the Minority Rights Group International (MRGI) from London in the implementation of the Advancing inclusion of vulnerable groups in SEE: Minority Rights Advocacy in the EU Accession Process program stated their overview over the content of the EC Reports, with an emphasis on the issues in connection with exercising national minority rights. 

The text of the overview of the Center for Peace - Vukovar

November 2008

- 26 November: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Milena Jurišić, was interviewed by the journalist from Borovo Radio on the occasion of the anniversary of the signing of the Erdut Agreement and its implementation in practice, where she gave a statement and materials which will be presented in the Identity Magazzine in the begining of 2009.

- 24-25 November, Donja Stubica: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, participated in the regional conference “Impact of the EU accession process on human rights''. The Conference was organized by the Center for Human Rights in Zagreb and was dedicated to the exchange of experiences of the civil society organizations and other interested institutions from Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania, dealing with issues of combating discrimination, providing free legal aid and protection of the environment and the asylum.

- 19 November, Vukovar: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, held a meeting with the delegation from the office of the OSCE High Commissioner for national minorities led by the High Commissioner Mr. Knut Vollebeck.

- 18 November, Belgrade (Serbia): Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, participated in the regional meeting on the cooperation in identifying areas in need of additional commitment aimed towards exercising refugee rights in the region. The meeting was organized by the OSCE Mission and UNHCR Office in the Republic of Serbia.

October 2008

- 27-28 October, Istanbul (Turkey): The President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Ljubomir Mikić, participated in the international workshop ''Minorities, Regional Stability and Security in Southeast Europe''. Within the framework of the initial phase of the project of monitoring, analyzing and reporting on mutual connection between the issues of minorities and security stability in SEE the workshop was organized by Ethnobarometar from Rome, Italy. 

- 27 October, Belgrade (Serbia): Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, participated at the regional conference titled ''Solution to the problem of refugees and a path to the European Union''. The conference was organized by the Serb Democratic Forum from Belgrade, Citizen’s Committee for Human Rights from Zagreb and Bureau for Human Rights from Tuzla.

- 23 October, Zagreb: A Conference was held on the topic: “10 years of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities – the impact of the Convention on the process of accessing rights by persons belonging to national minorities in the Republic of Croatia”. On behalf of the Coalition for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and within the framework of the 4 year program Minority Rights in Practice – National Action Plan for Croatia, the Conference was organized by the Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance from Vukovar. The Conference was organized on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, first international legally binding document for the protection of rights of persons belonging to national minorities. Primary aim of the conference was to promote the Framework Convention in the Republic of Croatia as well as to consider the impact of the Convention on the improvement of the status of national minorities as well as protection and access to minority rights in the Republic of Croatian in the past ten years. The Conference also overviewed concrete actions of the government of the Republic of Croatia and current position of the minorities and the status of minority rights in the Republic of Croatia. Conference participants (70) were representatives of the associations and councils of national minorities; non-governmental human / minority rights organizations; Government’s offices for Human Rights and for National Minorities; Ombudsman’s office; EC Delegation to the Republic of Croatia; minority rights experts and of an international NGO - the Minority Rights Group International.

Brief report from the Conference

- 9–10 October, Strasbourg (France): Conference “Strengthening of the influence of the Framework Convention: past experiences, present achievements and future challenges” was held under the organization of the Council of Europe. The Conference was held on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, first international legally binding treaty for the protection of national minorities. The Conference was dedicated to the overview of the contribution of the Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in the past. Prior to the beginning of the official part of the conference, a meeting of NGOs was organized, led by Minority Rights Group International from London, who worked on the drafting of the final version of the common NGO Declaration on the Framework Convention, which was later presented as the plenary session of the official part of the conference. So far, more than 85 NGOs of the Council of Europe member-countries have signed the declaration. Mr. Ljubomir Mikić, President of the Center participated in the conference and the NGO meeting on behalf of the Center for Peace, Legal Advise and psychosocial Assistance.

The text of the Declaration of NGOs (eng., cro.)
For information on the conference see http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitorings/minorities/4_Events/News_Conf_en.asp

 - 1 – 2 October, Warsaw (Poland): President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Ljubomir Mikić, participated in the annual conference: Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. During the working session no. 5, dedicated to the consideration of the issue of tolerance and non-discrimination in OSCE member-countries, Mr. Ljubomir Mikić addressed the participant with an intervention regarding problems of housing care of minority returnee, former OT rights holders in the Republic of Croatia. In the role of a panelist Mr. Ljubomir Mikić also participated in the side eventu dedicated to the presentation of the publication: ''Report: Pushing for Change? South East Europe's Minorities in the EU Progress Reports'', published by Minority Rights Group International form London in July 2008. This publication was drafted in cooperation with local partner NGOs from Southeast Europe, including the Center for Peace - Vukovar. Moderator of the side eventwas Mr. Željko Jovanović, Senior Programme Manager of the Institute Open Society from Budapest, and the panelist, aside from Mr. Ljubomira Mikića, were Mrs. Snježana Bokulić, Program Manager of MRGI for Europe and Central Asia and the author of the publication and Mr. Nadir Redžepi, representative of the Roma Democratic organization for development SONCE from Tetovo, Macedonia. 

Text of the intervention of Mr. Ljubomir Mikić
For information about the Conference see http://www.osce.org/conferences/hdim_2008.html

Conference participation costs of Mr. Ljubomira Mikića was co-financed by the National Foundation for Civil Society Development under the program for cooperation in the field of transferring knowledge on international level – Knowledge without borders (A).

September 2008

- 26 September, Rijeka: Under the auspices of the city of Rijeka and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia commenced the 12th Ethno Festival: “Days of national minorities from Rijeka”. The festival was officially opened with a public discussion on the topic “Inter-cultural dialog in the Croatia society”, where the speakers were professor dr. sc. Elvio Baccarini from the Faculty of Philosophy in Rijeka; Mr. Stojan Obradović, Chief Editor of the news agency STINA and the editor of the Minority Forum; and Mr. Ljubomir Mikić, President of the Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance – Vukovar.

- 25 September, Vukovar: A public discussion on the topic “Return of Serbs in the Republic of Croatia – housing care” was organized by the Council of Serb national minority in Vukovar. The participants-speakers in the discussion were Ms. Anna-Maria Radić, Head of the Administration for the Areas of Special State Care of the Ministry of Regional Development, Forestry and Water Management; Mr. Miodrag Linta, Coordinator of the office of Serb Democratic Forum in Belgrade; and Mrs. Ankica Mikić, legal advisor of the Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance – Vukovar.

July 2008

- 11 July, Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina): Document ANALYSIS of the access to housing care by refugees and displaced persons, former tenancy right holders, in the Republic of Croatia in 2007 was presented to the public. This analysis was carried out in the last phase of the Regional Legal Assistance Program – ‘Supporting the return of refugees and displaced persons through legal aid’ the project that was implemented in the period October 2005-April 2008. The last phase of RLAP, January-April 2008, was implemented by three non-governmental organizations, members of the regional network of RLAP: Humanitarian Centre for Integration and Tolerance from Novi Sad, Serbia; Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance from Vukovar, Croatia; and a regional project Movimento por la Paz, el Disarme y la Libertad (MPDL), Spain, with offices in B&H, Serbia, and Croatia. The primary aim of the last phase of RLAP was to monitor and prepare a detailed analysis of the existing programs for housing care of refugees and displaced former tenancy right holders in the Republic of Croatia (RoC) and implementation of these programs in 2007, in conformity with obligations expressed and accepted by the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
 
Analysis - Full text
Analysis - Precise

- 8 – 10 July, Sarajevo: Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar participated in a coordination meeting of partner organizations involved in implementation of the regional project Strategic Litigation on Antidiscrimination and Minority Rights in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo.  The project is implemented by the Minority Rights Group International, United Kingdom, in cooperation with the Center for Peace – Vukovar and Movimento por la Paz, el Disarme y la Libertad (MPDL), Spain, regional offices in B&H and Kosovo. Implementation of the project started in May 2008 with the Open Society Institute – Budapest support.

- 7 July, Zagreb: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Ljubomir Mikic, attended a dinner hosted by H.E. Mr. Thomas Marr, the Ambassador of Canada, on the occasion of the visit of the Hon. Jason Kenney, Canada’s Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity.

- 4 – 7 July, Bizovacke toplice: In-country Training Seminar on the EU Accession Process in SEE and Minority Protection was held. The seminar was organized by the Center for Peace – Vukovar under the tree-years program Advancing inclusion of vulnerable groups in SEE: Minority rights advocacy in the EU accession process.The program is realized in period July 2007 – June 2010 by the Minority Rights Group International, United Kingdom, in cooperation with local partners from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. Training participants (26) were representatives of minority organizations and institutions, human rights non-governmental organizations and media from Croatia. Lecturers at the training were representatives of the Center for Peace partner organizations from Macedonia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and the United Kingdom.

 - 1 July, Brussels:President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Ljubomir Mikic, attended the launch of the report Pushing for Change? South East Europe's Minorities in the EU Progress Reports, drafted by the Minority Rights Group International, UK, with contribution of local partner NGOs from SEE. Launch of the report and the discussion that followed were attended by representatives of EC, European Parliament, international organizations, national missions to the European Communities, and activists of international and local SEE NGOs.
Press release 

June 2008

- 26 June, Brussels: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar and the coordinator of the national component of the Minority Rights in Practice Program in Southeast Europe participated in the annual meeting of the representatives of partnership organizations involved in the program implementation. The annual meeting was organized by the King Baudouin Foundation. The meeting was dedicated to discussions on formal establishment of the regional NGO Minority Rights Balkan Network (MIRBAN) and final review of the Minority Rights in Practice Program in Southeast Europe program to be closed by the end of 2008.

- 25 June, Brussels: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar and the coordinator of the national component of the Minority Rights in Practice Program in Southeast Europe participated in the multilateral meeting with representatives of EC. The meeting provided a floor for consideration and a discussion on remaining problems and the progress the Republic of Croatia made towards fulfilling political criteria for EU membership since the presentation of the latest Annual EC Progress Report on Croatia published in November 2007.

- 18 June, Vukovar: Mr. Calum Shaw, representative of the Quaker Council for European Affairs, Brussels visited the Center for Peace - Vukovar. Center for Peace representatives presented to Mr. Shaw Center’s experiences in working on reconciliation and human rights issues as well as on their opinions on the process of fulfilling political criteria for Croatia’s EU membership.

- 6 June, Zagreb: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Ljubomir Mikic, participated in the EC Delegation to the Republic of Croatia consultation meeting with representatives of local civil society organizations on the issue of preparation of 2008 Annual EC Report on Croatia’s Progress towards the EU membership. The meeting was organized by the Government of Croatia Office for Cooperation with NGOs and EC Delegation to Croatia in cooperation with the Civil Society Development Council and the Human Rights Center.

May 2008

- 16-18 May, Skopje (Macedonia):Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikic, participated in the 4th Training for Human Rights Lawyers in Western Balkans on the issue of implementation of Article 8 of the European Convention for Human Rights. Training was organized by the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights.

- 14 May, Zagreb: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Ljubomir Mikic, attended a meeting for non-governmental organizations, providers of free legal aid, on the issue of ‘’The Instruction for accelerating administrative-legal procedure in establishing the right to reconstruction assistance and to housing care assistance’’. Meeting was organized by the Ministry of Regional Development, Forestry and Water Management and UNHCR – Zagreb.

- 8 May, Jankovac: Seminar ‘’The position and role of Councils and Representatives of National Minorities in Protecting and Accessing Minority Rights in the Republic of Croatia’’. The organizers of the event were the Center for Peace – Vukovar and the Coalition for Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. The seminar was organized under the second phase of the program ‘’Minority Rights in Practice – National Action Plan for Croatia 2007-2008’’ carried out by the support of the King Baudouin Foundation and the (Belgium) National Lottery. Seminar participants (20) were representatives of national minorities councils and regional authorities of Viroviticko-Podravska county.

- 7 May, Vukovar: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Ljubomir Mikic, participated in  civil society organizations of Vukovar-Sirmium and Osijek-Baranja counties meeting with HE, Ambassador of Finland to Croatia, Mrs. Ann-Marie Nyroos.

- 7 May, Vukovar: Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar attended the regional consultations meeting on the World Bank Strategic Partnership for Croatia 2009 – 2012.

April 2008

- 12 April, Karlovac: Seminar ‘’The position and role of Councils and Representatives of National Minorities in Protecting and Accessing Minority Rights in the Republic of Croatia’’. The organizers of the event were the Center for Peace – Vukovar and the Coalition for Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. The seminar was organized under the second phase of the program ‘’Minority Rights in Practice – National Action Plan for Croatia 2007-2008’’ carried out by the support of the King Baudouin Foundation and the (Belgium) National Lottery. Seminar participants (40) were representatives of councils and individual representatives of national minorities from Sibensko-kninska County.

- 5 April, Daruvar: Seminar: ‘’The position and role of Councils and Representatives of National Minorities in Protecting and Accessing Minority Rights in the Republic of Croatia’’. The organizers of the event were the Center for Peace – Vukovar and the Coalition for Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. The seminar was organized under the second phase of the program ‘’Minority Rights in Practice – National Action Plan for Croatia 2007-2008’’ carried out by the support of the King Baudouin Foundation and the (Belgium) National Lottery. Seminar participants (30) were representatives of councils and individual representatives of national minorities, representatives of minority associations and representatives of local / regional self government units from Bjelovarsko-bilogorska County.

March 2008
- 28 March, Zagreb: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikic, took a part in a public discussion on the Draft Law on Combating Discrimination. Discussion was organized by the Ministry of Family, Veterans Affairs and Intergenerational Solidarity, in cooperation with Government’s Office for Human Rights and the Human Rights Center.

- 14-17 March, Ohrid (Macedonia):Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikic, participated in the seminar ‘’Impact of the EU Accession Process on Human Rights – cases of Croatia and Macedonia''. Seminar was organized by the Human Rights Center, Croatia and Foundation Open Society Institute Macedonia, with the support of the East East Partnership Beyond Borders Program of the Open Society Institute.

- 10-11 March, Skopje (Macedonia): President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar and the coordinator of the national component of the program „Minority Rights in Practice 2007/2008“, participated in the work of a regional conference „Political Participation of Minorities in SEE in the Process Towards EU“. The workshop was organized by the Human Values organization from Skopje Al within the framework of the Minority Rights in Practice in SEE program. Ljubomir Mikic delivered a presentation on the topic Political Parties and Minority Issues – Croatian Perspective.

February 2008

- 22 February, Vukovar: Center for Peace – Vukovar organized a consulting meeting with 6 representatives of national minorities from Vukovar-Srijem and Osijek-Baranja County. The meeting was held under the framework of preparations for conducting Regional Study on Copenhagen Political Criteria for EU membership. The study paper will be produced and published under the framework of the regional program Advancing inclusion of vulnerable groups in SEE: Minority Rights Advocacy in the EU Accession Process 2007-2010.

- 18 February, Zagreb: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Ljubomir Mikic, participated in the public discussion organized by the Center for Human Rights on the topic of Regulating of a Free Legal Aid System in Croatia.

  - 6 February, Zagreb: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Ljubomir Mikic, held a presentation on topics “Direct protection of Human Rights” and “Reporting to UN Committees” at the workshop organized by the Center for Human Rights and UNDP. The workshop was organized under the framework of a seminar on human rights for organizations dealing with HIV/AIDS issues in the Republic of Croatia.

 January 2008

- 29 – 30 January, Ljubljana: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr.Ljubomir Mikic,  participated in the Regional meeting ''Being Seen – Being Heard'', an activity within a larger project ''Living Together'', organized by the British Council. The aim of the project ''Living Together'' is to facilitate greater participation of minority communities in public life. The meeting gathered representatives of the media, NGOs, academic institutions, local authorities and offices of the British Council from Austria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia and United Kingdom.

- 16 January, Zagreb: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikic, participated in the meeting of member-organizations of the ad hoc Coalition for Free Legal Aid. The subject of the meeting was the discussion and adoption of common NGO standing on The joint starting points for the establishment of Free Legal Aid in the Republic of Croatia document.

- Center for Peace – Vukovar joined the initiative of the Aegis Trust, UK, to launch an international campaign aimed towards bringing to justice two suspects for crimes committed in Darfur, Sudan. Aegis Trust, UK based non-governmental organization, (www.aegistrust.org) launched the campaign to pres Sudanese government to hand over two war crimes suspects to ICC (International Criminal Court). ICC arrest warrants were issued in 2007, and Sudanese authority still fails to react and show no readiness to cooperate with the Court. The International campaign is directed towards UN Security Council e.g. SC member countries in order for the Security Council to organize a visit to Khartoum in May 2008 and to demand from Sudanese government to hand over the two suspects to ICC and ,if needed, to impose targeted sanctions (asset freezes) on the Sudanese Government ministers protecting these two men.

December 2007

- 17 December. Zagreb:Center for Peace – Vukovar and the National Foundation for Civil Society Development signed a contract on provision of Foundation’s financial support for Center for Peace project “Public Administration in service of citizens” to be implemented in 2008. The financial support amounts to 96.600,00 HRK.

- Center for Peace – Vukovar and the National Foundation for Civil Society Development signed a contract on provision of financial and institutional support for Center’s activities in 2008.  

- 12 December, Vukovar: Within the framework of the Coalition for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights program ''Promotion of European values against racism and xenophobia on local and regional levels“, the Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance Vukovar organized a round table in the occasion of the Human Rights Day. The round table was supported by the National Foundation for Civil Society Development and was attended by the representatives of NGOs, labor-unions and local authorities from Eastern Croatia.

- 8 December, Zagreb: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr.Ljubomir Mikic, took a part in the television show “PRIZMA” broadcasted on the Croatian National Television in occasion of the international Human Rights Day (December 10).

- 7 - 8 December, Vukovar: Within the framework of the Regional project “How to reach the truth” supported by IKV PAX CHRISTI Foundation from Netherlands, a round table was organized by the Center for Peace – Vukovar in cooperation with Forum of Citizens of Tuzla on the topic “With understanding towards trust – After-war reconstruction of (co)existence in Vukovar”. The main aim of this round table was to analyze questions of after-war reconstruction of (co)existence in Vukovar from the perspective of local political representatives, representatives of religious communities and the media, civil organizations and citizens. Apart from participants from Vukovar, the seminar was also attended by the guests from Zagreb, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

The conference report

- 5 December, Banja Luka (Bosnia & Herzegovina): Upon the invitation of the Association of workers and disabled workers refugees from Croatia, citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić and Mr. Ljubomir Mikić, took a part in the conference “Social status and protection of social and economic rights of workers and labor invalids/refugees from Croatia – citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Republic of Srpska” and introduced a presentation on the topic of unsolved property rights in the Republic of Croatia, including tenancy rights and the implementation of the government’s housing care program. The conference was attended by the representatives of the governmental institutions from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republic of Srpska, representatives of persons displaced from the Republic of Croatia and NGOs, General Consulate of the Republic of Croatia in Banja Luka as well as international organizations and foreign diplomatic representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

November 2007

- 27 November, Zagreb: Legal advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, participated on the meeting of member-organizations of the ad hoc Coalition for Free Legal Aid. The meeting was held in the Center for Human Rights, while the topic was the discussion on joint starting points for the drafting of the Law on Free Legal Aid.

- 23 Novembar, Zagreb: Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar participated in a round table discussion ‘’Sarajevo Declaration – Three Years After’’. Round table was organized by Serbian Democratic Forum in a capacity of South East European Refugee Assistance Network coordinating agency.

- 20 November, Brussels (Belgium): President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Ljubomir Mikic, participated in a meeting with the European Commission staff organized as a follow-up event to publication of 2007 EC progress reports on the accession of SEE countries. The meeting was hosted by the Minority Rights Group International and MEP Kinga Gal at the EU parliament. Representatives of MRGI partner organizations from SEE, implementers of the program Advancing inclusion of vulnerable groups in SEE: Minority rights advocacy in the EU accession process, made their reflections on recently published EC reports with the emphasis on minority rights related issues.

MRGI Press Release
Text of the Intervention submitted by Ljubomir Mikic

- 13 November, Karlovac: ‘’The position and role of Councils and Representatives of National Minorities in Protecting and Accessing Minority Rights in the Republic of Croatia’’. The organizers of the event were the Center for Peace – Vukovar and the Committee for Human Rights from Karlovac on behalf of the Coalition for Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. The seminar was organized under the second phase of the program ‘’Minority Rights in Practice – National Action Plan for Croatia 2007-2008’’ carried out by the support of the King Baudouin Foundation and the (Belgium) National Lottery. Seminar participants (22) were representatives of councils of national minorities, individual representatives of national minorities and representatives of non-governmental organizations from Karlovacka County.

- 9 Novembar, Porec: Seminar: ‘’The position and role of Councils and Representatives of National Minorities in Protecting and Accessing Minority Rights in the Republic of Croatia’’. The organizers of the event were the Center for Peace – Vukovar and the Center for Civic Initiatives from Porec on behalf of the Coalition for Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. The seminar was organized under the second phase of the program ‘’Minority Rights in Practice – National Action Plan for Croatia 2007-2008’’ carried out by the support of the King Baudouin Foundation and the (Belgium) National Lottery. Seminar participants (36) were representatives of councils of national minorities, individual representatives of national minorities and representatives of local / regional self government units from Istria County.

- 6 November, Zagreb: Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar participated in UNHCR – NGOs meeting organized by UNHCR. The purpose of the meeting was to consider models of mutual cooperation and keeping regular consultations as well as to consider possible joint activities and priority issues in the forthcoming period.  

October 2007

- 30 October, Belgrade (Serbia): President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Ljubomir Mikić, attended promotion of professor Philip Leach’s book on procedures of submitting applications to the European Court for Human Rights followed by a discussion on the European system for human rights protection. Presentation was organized by the Belgrade Center for Human Rights and the OSCE Mission to Serbia.

- 23 - 27 October, Ohrid (Macedonia): Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar participated in a training seminar on the EU Accession Process in SEE and Minority Protection. The training seminar was organized within the frame of the regional program Advancing inclusion of vulnerable groups in SEE: Minority rights advocacy in the EU accession process implementedby the Minority Rights Group International, United Kingdom, in cooperation with local partners from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.

- 18 - 19 October, Cluj – Napoca (Romania): President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Ljubomir Mikić, participated in the workshop ‘’Legal Instruments on the Status of National Minorities in South East Europe’’ organized by the Ethnocultural Diversity Resouce Center and Babes-Bolyai University – Political Sciences Department. Ljubomir Mikic delivered a short presentation on the institutions and legal instruments for protection of minority rights and freedoms in the Republic of Croatia.

- 9 - 10 October, Zagreb: Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar participated in the seminar ''Documenting Discrimination: the Significance of Data Collection'', organized by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.

- 4 October, Beli Manastir: Seminar: ‘’The position and role of Councils and Representatives of National Minorities in Protecting and Accessing Minority Rights in the Republic of Croatia’’. The organizers of the event were the Center for Peace – Vukovar and the Center for Peace, Non-violence and Human Rights - Osijek on behalf of the Coalition for Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. The seminar was organized under the second phase of the program ‘’Minority Rights in Practice – National Action Plan for Croatia 2007-2008’’ carried out by the support of the King Baudouin Foundation and the (Belgium) National Lottery. Seminar participants (21) were representatives of councils of national minorities, individual representatives of national minorities and representatives of local / regional self government units from Baranja area.

- 3 October, Vukovar: Seminar: ‘’The position and role of Councils and Representatives of National Minorities in Protecting and Accessing Minority Rights in the Republic of Croatia’’. The organizer of the event was the Center for Peace – Vukovar on behalf of the Coalition for Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. The seminar was organized under the second phase of the program ‘’Minority Rights in Practice – National Action Plan for Croatia 2007-2008’’ carried out by the support of the King Baudouin Foundation and the (Belgium) National Lottery. Seminar participants (33) were representatives of councils of national minorities, individual representatives of national minorities and representatives of local / regional self government units from Vukovar-Sirmium county.

September 2007

- 27 September, Zagreb: Legal Advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, participated in the work of the round table ‘’Law against discrimination: needs, opportunities and boundaries of the legal actions against discrimination‘’, organized by the Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and Serbian Democratic Forum.

- 27 September, Zagreb: Legal Advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, participated in the work of the round table „Implementation of Article 22 of the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities: Employment in Judiciary“, organized by the OSCE Mission in Croatia and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia.

Media press release from the round table is available at the OSCE Mission in Croatia web-page:
www.osce.org/croatia

- 26 September, Warsaw: Representatives of the informal regional network of NGOs participating in the project Regional Legal Assistance Program (RLAP) organized a side event at the annual OSCE ODIHR Human Dimension Implementation Meeting. The event was organized under the auspices of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and was dedicated to presentation of a Study on Access to Pertaining Rights and (Re)integration of Displaced Population in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia in 2006 – National Political-Legal Frameworks and their Implementation in Practice. The main aim of the event was to present and to point-out the most significant problems still affecting displaced population in the Region.

Introductory remarks at the event were given by Mrs. Ružica Banda, representative of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, while the panelists on behalf of the RLAP network were Mr. Fermin Cordoba, representative of the Movimento por la Paz el Disarme y la Libertad (MPDL) regional project; Mr. Ljubomir Mikić, representative of the Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance from Vukovar; and Mr. Miodrag Shrestha, representative of the Group 484.

A summary paper prepared for the side event

- 3 September: Royal Norwegian Embassy Zagreb approved a donation in the amount of 90.000,00 HRK for the continuation of the Center for Peace - Vukovar project "Center for increasing public awareness on human rights, direct assistance and democratization". Project is intended to monitor, accelerate and contribute to the progress in multi-way return, access to rights and finding permanent solutions for refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees.

 August 2007

- By signing the petition to ''keep minority voices at UN'' Center for Peace – Vukovar supported a campaign launched by the Minority Rights Group International (MRGI), United Kingdom and the International Movement Against all forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), Japan.

The campaign to keep minority voices at UN summary:
‘’The voices of minorities at the UN are under threat. As the UN Human Rights Council completes its reform process, there is a danger that for the first time since 1947, there will be no UN forum on minorities.
The Human Rights Council will make the decision on the future of the Working Group on Minorities (WGM) at its session in September 2007.
Minority Rights Group International and the International Movment Against all forms of Discrimination and Racism are urgently campaigning to persuade the 47 member states who make the decisions at the UN Human Rights Council to keep a forum where minorities can raise issues of concern to them.

At a minimum, this forum must:

- Be an official UN meeting where minorities can present their issues, meet with UN officials and hold discussions with their Government representatives;

- Facilitate participation of NGOs from all over the world regardless of ECOSOC Status;

- Allow the discussions in the forum to inform the work of the Human Rights Council’’

More information on the campaign is available at: http://www.minorityrights.org/un_campaign

 July 2007

- 29 July – 1 August, Budapest: On the occasion of the launch of tree-years program Advancing inclusion of vulnerable groups in SEE: Minority rights advocacy in the EU accession process  representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar attended partner organizations meeting in Budapest. The program will be realized in the period July 2007 – June 2010 by the Minority Rights Group International, United Kingdom, in cooperation with local partners from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.

June 2007

- 19 June, Belgrade: Legal Advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, participated in the work of the international round table „Sustainable refugee return in the Republic of Croatia – situation and perspectives“, organized by the Serbian Democratic Forum from Belgrade.

- 18-19 June, Osijek: Legal Advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Milena Jurišić, participated in the seminar on raising public awareness on the damages of corruption ''Anti-corruption programs and measures of prevention'', organized by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia.

- 18/20 June, Brussels, Belgium: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar and the coordinator of the national component of the Minority Rights in Practice Programin Southeast Europe participated in the annual meeting of the representatives of partnership organizations involved in the program implementation. The annual meeting was organized by the King Baudouin Foundation. During his stay in Brussels, Mr. Ljubomir Mikić conducted a bilateral meeting with the European Commission Croatian country desk representative. 

- 18 June, Zagreb: Legal Advisor of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mrs. Ankica Mikić, participated in the work of the NGO Conference “Sustainable refugee return – open questions”. On behalf of the Southeast European NGO Refugee Assistance Network, the conference for organized by the Serbian Democratic Forum (SDF) from Zagreb.

- 14 June, Sarajevo: After the first official presentation of the document “Study on Access to Pertaining Rights and (Re)integration of DPs in Croatia, BiH and Serbia in 2006” – National-political-legal frameworks and their practical implementation”, organized by the OSCE Mission in the Republic of Serbia in Belgrade on March 05, the presentation of the Study was held in Sarajevo. The Study presentation in Sarajevo was co-organized by the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Regional MPDL Network. On behalf of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, the presentation was attended by the Legal Advisor Mrs. Ankica Mikić.

This Study was drafted within the framework of the Regional Legal Assistance Programme (RLAP) – more precisely the project entitled “Support to Return of Refugees/IDPs Through Legal Aid” implemented in the period between 5 October 2005 and 5 October 2006. Under the auspices of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and with the participation of the OSCE Missions to the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the project was implemented by the regional network of twelve non-governmental organizations of the three states. The project implementation was financially supported by the Government of the United States of America.

The Study was presented by the representatives of non-governmental organizations, participating in the implementation of the RLAP project.

Text of the Study is available in English and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian at the OSCE Mission to Serbia official web-site. (Full text of the study)

- 13-15 June, Stockholm/Sigtuna, Sweden: The President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Mr. Ljubomir Mikić, participated in the Council of Europe Forum for the Future of Democracy 2007.

- 4 June, Vukovar: Representative of the Center for Peace – Vukovar participated in the presentation of the program of return of refugees and the state program on housing care assistance, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Croatia. Presentation and discussion that followed were dedicated to issue of the Government of the Republic of Croatia housing care programs in and outside areas of special state concern, and to minority employment in the state administration bodies and judiciary. The presentation was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integrations; Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Tourism, Traffic and Development; Central State Administration Office; representatives of International Community in Croatia; representatives of local and regional authorities of Vukovar-Srijem and Osijek-Baranja counties; and representatives of non-governmental organizations and local national minority institutions.

May 2007

- 23-24 May, Durres/Albania: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar and the coordinator of the national component of the program „Minority Rights in Practice 2007/2008“, participated in the work of a regional workshop „Government-CSOs cooperation on minority rights enforcement in SEE countries“. The workshop was organized by HDPC organization from Tirana, Albania, within the framework of DIANET regional programme.

For more information on DIANET programme please see www.dianet.org

- 21 May, Zagreb: Round table „Implementation of the Article 22 of the Constitutional Law on Rights of National Minorities: employment in the State Administration” was held in the premises of the Croatian Parliament. Round table, organized by the OSCE Mission to Croatia and the Central State Administration Office, was attended by the President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, Ministers of Justice and Interior, representatives of organizations and offices of the government from the local and national levels, MPs, representatives of national minorities and civil organization as well as international organization and diplomatic corps in the Republic of Croatia. President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Ljubomir Mikić, participated in the round table in behalf of the Center.

Media press release from the round table is available at the OSCE Mission in Croatia web-page:
www.osce.org/croatia

- 3 May, Osijek: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Ljubomir Mikić, held a meeting with representatives of the Council of Europe Committee of Experts of the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages delegation. Visit of the Committee of Experts delegation is a part of preparatory activities for production of the 3rd Committee of Experts evaluation report on the implementation of the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages in the Republic of Croatia.

 April 2007

- 27 April, Skopje:President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Ljubomir Mikić, participated in the one-day workshop ‘’Minorities in Transition (SEE): A Force Forward Rather than Backward’’ organized by the International Centre for Democratic Transition (ICDT), Budapest. Ljubomir Mikic delivered a short presentation on the institutions and legal instruments for protection of minority rights and freedoms in the Republic of Croatia.

- 24 April, Vukovar: Within the framework of a study on existing models of local partnership in Varazdinska and Vukovar-Sirmium county conducted by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – LEED Trento Center for Local Development, president of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Ljubomir Mikić, held a meeting with representatives of the USAID and OECD LEED Trento Center for Local Development, and an international team of OECD countries experts for local development and partnerships.

- 20 April, Vukovar: Within the framework of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Monitoring Group first visit to Croatia, representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar took part in a meeting with the Congress delegation and Vukovar-Sirmium deputy prefect, Mr.Jovan Ajdukovic. The aim of the Monitoring Group visit was collecting information for production of preliminary overview on local and regional self-government in the Republic of Croatia by considering implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. 

March 2007

- 5 March, Belgrade: The OSCE Mission to Serbia organized a presentation of the Study on Access to Pertaining Rights and (Re)integration of Displaced Persons in Croatia, BiH and Serbia in 2006 - National Political-Legal Frameworks and Their Implementation in Practice.
This study was elaborated within the Regional Legal Assistance Programme (RLAP), more precisely the project entitled “Support to Return of Refugees/IDPs Through Legal Aid”, implemented in the period between 5 October 2005 and 5 October 2006. Under the auspices of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and with the participation of the OSCE Missions to the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the project was implemented by the regional network of twelve non-governmental organizations of the three states. The project implementation was financially supported by the Government of the United States of America.

Presentation of the study was done by the RLAP NGO project staff.

Text of the study in now available in Englih and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian at the OSCE Mission to Serbia official web-site. (Full text of the study)

February 2007

- OSCE Mission to Croatia approved the Center for Peace – Vukovar a financial support for continuation of the project ‘’Towards Effective Access to Rights in Administrative Procedures‘’ in 2007.

December 2006

- Under the program Minority Rights in practice in Southeast Europe a paper Exercise of the right to official use of national minorities languages and scripts in units of local and regional self-governments and programs in national minorities languages on the Croatian Radio and Television was released.
Hard copies of the publication in Croatian and English language can be obtained from the Center for Peace, Legal Advises and Psychosocial Assistance – Vukovar office. 

- 18 December, Zagreb: Conference '' Implementation of the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities in 2006’’. The organizer of the conference was the Center for Peace – Vukovar on behalf of the Coalition for Promotion and Protection of Human rights. The conference was organized under the program Minority Rights in Practice – National Strategy for Croatia. Conference participants were representatives of the Ministry of Justice; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integrations; Central State Office for Administration; Council for National Minorities; national minority MPs; associations and councils of national minorities; local and regional self-government units; OSCE Mission to Croatia; and non-governmental organizations. (Short report from the Conference)

November 2006

- 16 November: Royal Norwegian Embassy Zagreb approved a donation in the amonut of 100.000,00 HRK for continuation of the Center for Peace - Vukovar project Center for increasing public awareness on human rights, direct assistance and democratization. Project is intended to monitor, accelerate and contribute to the progress in multy-way return, access to rights and finding permanent solutions for refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees.

- 8 - 9 November, Brussels: President of the Center for Peace – Vukovar and coordinator of the national component of the Minority Rights in Practice Program participated in the Program partner organizations annual meeting. The meeting was organized by the King Baudouin Foundation. During his stay in Brussels, Ljubomir Mikic held bilteral meeting with the European Commission country desk for Croatia officers.  

October 2006

- 27 October, Beograd: Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar, Ljubomir and Ankica Mikić, participated in the round table ‘’Sarajevo Declaration – Two Years After’’, organized by Serbian Democratic Forum in behalf of the Serbian Refugee Council. Round table participants were governmental organizations representatives from Serbia and Croatia, representatives of international organizations (OSCE, UNHCR) and non-governmental organizations from two countries.

- 24 October, Zagreb: A round table on topics of Excercise of the right to equal official use of language and script of national minorities on levels of local and regional self-government units, and on programs for minorities on Croatian Radio-Television. The organizer of the round table was the Center for Peace – Vukovar on behalf of the Coalition for Promotion and Protection of Human rights. The round table was organized under the program Minority Rights in Practice – National Strategy for Croatia.
Round table participants were representatives of: the Central State Office for Administration; OSCE Mission to Croatia; local and regional self-government units; associations and councils of national minorities; human rights non-governmental organizations; and a member of the Committee of Experts for the Implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages from the Republic of Croatia.

- 5 October, Brussels: Center for Peace – Vukovar president, Mr. Ljubomir Mikić, attended a discussion ‘’Preventing Exclusion: EU legal limitations and minority safeguards in the accession process of Bulgaria, Romania and the Western Balkans’’, organized by the Minority Rights Group International, London. Introductory comments on the discussion theme were provided by Mrs. Kinga Gál, MEP, and Mr. Mark Lattimer, Director, MRGI London.

September 2006

- 20 September, Vukovar: Center for Peace – Vukovar in cooperation with the OSCE Mission to Serbia organized a panel discussion on resolution of the outstanding legal issues pertaining to refugees/returnees from/to the Republic of Croatia. Discussion was organized under the program Regional Legal Aid Program (RLAP) – Support to Refugee/IDP Return Through Legal Aid. 
Special guest at the event was deputy Croatian Ombudsman, Mr. Dejan Palić.
Discussion was attended by representatives of OSCE missions to Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and representatives of 12 partner nongovernmental organizations from three countries: Humanitarian Center For Integration and Tolerance, Novi Sad; Serbian Democratic Forum, Belgrade; Balkan Center for Migration and Humanitarian Activities, Belgrade; Praxis, Belgrade and Kraljevo offices; Group 484, Belgrade; International Lex, Banja Luka; Serbian Democratic Forum, Zagreb; Association Gorica, Korenica; Civil Rights Project, Sisak; Civil Rights Project, Vukovar; regional MPDL (Movimento por la Paz, el Disarme y la Libertad) project, and Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance, Vukovar. Discussion was aimed to discuss and exchange information on refugee access to rights issues; experiences in the work of Croatia Ombudsman's office; and cooperation and possibilities for intensifying cooperation between Ombudsman's office and RLAP network member nongovernmental organizations. (Briefing paper from the discussion)

July 2006

- Under the program Minority Rights in practice in Southeast Europe a paper Challenges to a permanent solution of refugee issues in the Republic of Croatia – Implementation of the Sarajevo Ministerial declaration on regional refugee return was released.
Hard copies of the publication in Croatian and English language can be obtained from the Center for Peace, Legal Advises and Psychosocial Assistance – Vukovar office.  

- July 10 – 14; Center for Peace – Vukovar in cooperation with the OSCE Mission to Serbia organized in Vukovar a training on documentation of human rights violations. Training was organized under the program Regional Legal Aid Program (RLAP) – Support to Refugee/IDP Return Through Legal Aid. Training was delivered by experts of Human Rights Documentation and Information Systems International (HURIDOCS) network from Geneva. Participants on the training were representatives of non-governmental organizations from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, involved in the implementation of RPPP program, and representatives of Missions of OSCE in Croatian and Serbia. 

June 2006

- June 20; In occasion of the World Refugee Day a round table Challenges to a Permanent Resolution of Refugee Problems in the Republic of Croatia – Implementation of Sarajevo Ministerial Declaration on Regional Refugee Return was organized in Zagreb. The organizer of the round table was the Center for Peace – Vukovar on behalf of the Coalition for Promotion and Protection of Human rights. The round table was organized under the program Minority Rights in Practice – National Strategy for Croatia.
Roundtable participants were representatives of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Tourism, Transport and Development - Office for Displaced Persons and Refugees and Office for Reconstruction of Family Houses; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration; Office of Croatian Ombudsman; minority MPs; OSCE and UNHCR Missions to Croatia; foreign embassies and non-governmental organizations for human rights

May 2006

- Under the program Minority Rights in practice in Southeast Europe a paper Problems of ethnically motivated incidents in the Republic of Croatia was published.
Hard copies of the publication in Croatian and English language can be obtained from the Center for Peace, Legal Advises and Psychosocial Assistance – Vukovar office.    

- May 7– 9, Topusko; Center for Peace – Vukovar organized a seminar on producing alternative reports on the implementation of United Nations (UN) Conventions, with an emphasis on International Covenant on Civil and Political rights. The seminar was organized in cooperation with the Center for Direct Protection of Human Rights under the partnership program Southeast Europe: Diversity and Democracy Partnership Program – Promoting the Rights of Minorities and Enhancing Intercommunity Understanding. 14 participants of the seminar were representatives of non-governmental organizations and councils of national minorities, and an UNHCR representative.

 April 2006

- April 26; A round table on the topic of Problems of ethnically motivated incidents in the Republic of Croatia in 2005 was held in Zagreb. The organizer of the round table was the Center for Peace – Vukovar on behalf of the Coalition for Promotion and Protection of Human rights. The round table was organized under the program Minority Rights in Practice – National Strategy for Croatia.
Roundtable participants were representatives of the Ministry of Interior; Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia; Office for Human Rights of the Republic of Croatia; members of the Parliament; OSCE Mission to Croatia; associations and councils of national minorities; and human rights non-governmental organizations.

March 2006

- Center for Peace – Vukovar published an analysis Annex G of the Agreement on succession issues: Regional mechanism for resolving proprietary and legal issues and recognition of the acquired rights of refugees and displaced persons in the area of former Yugoslavia. The publication was produced as a follow-up to the regional round table '' Protection of private property and acquired rights of refugees and displaced persons according to provisions of Annex G of the Agreement on succession issues'', held in Vukovar, Republic of Croatia, 21 – 22 April 2005.
Hard copies of the publication in Croatian and English language can be obtained from the Center for Peace, Legal Advises and Psychosocial Assistance – Vukovar office.  

- Under the program Minority Rights in practice in Southeast Europe a paper Exercise of the rights to education of persons belonging to national minorities in mother tongue and script in eastern Croatia was released.
Hard copies of the publication in Croatian and English language can be obtained from the Center for Peace, Legal Advises and Psychosocial Assistance – Vukovar office.  

- Center for Peace – Vukovar became a member of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center / Norwegian Refugee Council global network of NGOs dealing with problems of internally displaced persons. Information on IDMC / NRC, as well as the newest IDMC report on internally displaced persons in Croatia (Croatia: Reforms come too late for most remaining ethnic Serbs) published on April 18, 2006, are available at www.internal-displacement.org .

February 2006

- Center for Peace – Vukovar released a translation of the Micro Study Croatia: Challenges for sustainable return of ethnic Serb refugees. Micro study was published in cooperation with the Minority Rights Group International, under the partnership program Southeast Europe: Diversity and Democracy Partnership Program – Promoting the Rights of Minorities and Enhancing Intercommunity Understanding.
Hard copies of the publication in Croatian and English language can be obtained from the Center for Peace, Legal Advises and Psychosocial Assistance – Vukovar office.  

January 2006

– Under the program Minority Rights in practice in Southeast Europe a paper Exercise of the rights to representation of persons belonging to national minorities in representative, administrative and judicial bodies, with the emphasis on the problems in relation to ethnic / minority affiliation was released.
Hard copies of the publication in Croatian and English language can be obtained from the Center for Peace, Legal Advises and Psychosocial Assistance – Vukovar office.