Croatia urged to speed up war crimes prosecutions

The Croatian authorities should speed up the prosecution of war crimes suspects and make it their top priority, Amnesty International has said in a report published today.

Behind a wall of silence: Prosecution of war crimes in Croatia, shows how the country's justice system is failing to provide many of the victims of the 1991-1995 war with justice amid continued delays, threats against witnesses and concerns over standards.

Government statistics currently indicate

The countries covered included Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

Co-Chairman Hastings argued that renewed

In the premises of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the representative of the Croatian-American Golf Foundation Mr. Željko Matura handed over today a donation cheque to the amount of 50.000 USD to the Vice Prime Minister of the Croatian Government

Red Cross societies across Europe are working flat out to combat the effects of the current severe weather. Floods, snow and temperatures as low as minus 33 have cost dozens of lives, wreaked havoc on transport and made many thousands of people vulnerable.

The worst of the weather has been in the Balkans, where floods have hit Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. Red Cross teams are visiting the worst-affected places and the Federation's Europe Zone office is helping national societies with their response.

UNHCR welcomes yesterday's announcement by the presidents of Croatia and Serbia of an agreement on resolving their two countries' mutual refugee and return issues. Successful resolution

German Ambassador Dr. Bernd Fischer and director of ITF Mr. Dorijan Mar=B9iè are signatories of the Memorandum by which the Federal Republic of Germany donates 200.000 EUR for the demining project of around 200 000 square meters on the territory of =C8ista Mala

"The process of elucidating the fate of those who went missing during this conflict is too slow," said Barbara Hintermann, the ICRC head of operations for Europe and North America, at today's launch of the "Missing Lives" photo exhibition in Zagreb.

"We are urging both governments to accelerate the process. The families of those missing have been waiting too long. They need to know what happened to their loved ones so they can

The Europe region is diverse in political and socio-economic terms, in its geography, demography and culture, as well as its public health trends and vulnerability to natural disasters. Membership services and programme support to National Societies therefore need to be adapted to the respective needs and the national context of individual national societies, and country-level plans describe the proposed activities in some 20 countries. The roll-out of Strategy 2020 and related approaches will be an important priority.

There are also areas of common concern