Fra. A. Tomaševića 32,32000 Vukovar, Croatia
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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.)
- 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 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. - 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. 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 - 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.
- 29 February – 2 March, Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina): Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar attended 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.
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. For more information on the campaign visit www.wantedwarcriminals.org.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. - 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.
- 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 - 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: - 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: 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.
- 11-12 June, Zagreb: Representatives of the Center for Peace – Vukovar participated in the seminar on European Union Council Directive on Racial Equality. The seminar was organized in the framework of the project implemented by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights – European Information Network on Racism and Xenophobia in candidate states Croatia and Turkey.
- 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: - 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. 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. 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. - 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) - 13 December, Zagreb: 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 2007.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. - 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.
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. - 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. 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. - 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. 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. - 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. - 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. 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. |
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NEW! ANALYSIS of the access to housing care by refugees and displaced persons,
NEW! Minority Rights Advocacy in the European Union: A Guide for NGOs in South-East Europe (translated into Croatian); Minority Rights Group International and Center for Peace, Legal Advice and Psychosocial Assistance - Vukovar, March 2008
NEW! Info-leaflet – Exercising rights before public administration bodies in the Republic of Croatia DIANET: ''Guide to Education and Minorities. Fondations for stable relations in the region." DIANET: ''Good Governance in Multiethnic Communities." DIANET: "Minority Rights Advocacy in South-East Europe, A Toolkit for NGOs"
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