Inter-ethnic/State Relations – 1998

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Inter-ethnic/State Relations – 1998

1998

Intermediate Implementation Intermediate implementation

The Joint Council appears to have become operational in 1998 when it began to receive funding from the GoC. The leaders of the Council are elected and meet three times a year with the President of Croatia. After one meeting, the President of Croatia reported that was committed to working with the Joint Council of Municipalities in order to “strengthen good inter-ethnic relations” and to build “bridges of cooperation” between Croatian and Serbian communities. 1

As for the functions of the organization, one book on Croatian electoral politics at the local level referred to the Joint Council as “a body that addresses the interests of the Serbian national community”. The organization is registered as a civil association with the GOC and is funded by the GoC.2

According to materials from the Joint Council’s website, 3 the organization is an association of local Serbian governments that works on behalf of the Serbian communities that make up its membership. It appears to be involved in outreach and advocacy for Serbians, and the larger Serbian community, by acting as an intermediary between the GoC and Serb communities. The Joint Council of Municipalities is frequently mentioned in the reports of NGOs as providing assistance to the NGOs on issues related to Serbian communities. 4

  1. “Amnesty and the Serbian Minority,” Vijesti, March 25, 2011.
  2. Stjepan Ivanisevic et al.. “Local Government in Croatia,” in Local Governments in Central and Eastern Europe, ed. Andrew Coulson and Adrian Campbell (London: Routledge, 2007), 183- 240.
  3. www.zvo.hr.
  4. “Analysis of the Access to Housing Care by Refugees,” OSCE Mission to Serbia, 2008.