HL Deb 28 October 1996 vol 575 c6WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they supported the admission of Croatia to the Council of Europe.

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey

We favour closer relations with Croatia and want her to take her place in Europe. In this respect, we have always supported in principle Croatia's application to join the Council of Europe. The question was on timing. Croatia's desire to join had to be balanced by an acceptance of her responsibilities and obligations—on democracy, human rights, essential freedoms and support for the Dayton process. That is why we supported an unprecedented postponement of her accession in order to satisfy ourselves on these points. In view of the Croatian Government's welcome attitude to the Bosnian elections and changes to a number of its laws, Croatia's membership has been formally approved. We now expect Croatia to comply fully with all the commitments it has entered into on becoming a member of the Council of Europe. Her performance will be monitored under compliance procedures.

Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they consider that Croatia is able to comply with the human rights standards of the Council of Europe.

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey

We expect the Croatian Government to meet fully its human rights obligations to the Council of Europe. Croatia is committed to addressing satisfactorily those areas of concern which delayed her membership. These include questions related to minorities, refugees and displaced persons, as well as media freedoms. Croatia has also undertaken to sign and ratify within certain time-limits key human rights conventions, in particular the European Convention on Human Rights. We shall monitor Croatia's performance to ensure that Council of Europe standards on human rights are maintained.