Citizenship Reform – 1997
1997
By 10 February, there were 21 Croatian Government document offices in operation and they are producing collectively up to 8,000 documents a week. In January, UNTAES and the GoC established procedures for voter registration based on the issuance of Croatian documents in the region. UNTAES indicated in its February report that it cannot determine the percentage of the eligible voting population that has received identity documents. The UN also reports that they have become aware that the number of identity documents processed, as reported by the GoC, do not distinguish between documents issued and documents denied to applicants.1 By the end of December 1997, 145,000 new citizenship papers and 126,000 new passports had been processed. The Administrative Court, as of December 1997, had not yet resolved around 900 appeals against denials of citizenship (UNTAES: Recent Development, 22 December 1997). Despite the urging of UNTAES officials, the Government of Croatia (GoC) refuses to recognize Serb documents dating back to 1991, such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates and drivers licenses. This generated untold problems for those individuals — mostly Serbs— as they try to obtain employment, health care, property, and rehabilitation assistance.2