Programs: Advocacy, Civic Education, Human Rights, Legal Assistance and Rule of Law, Refugee Return and Reintegration

Countries: Croatia

ADF/Croatia’s original program, begun in 1994, served to strengthen the capabilities of Croatian NGOs to assist refugees and displaced populations through the provision of legal assistance services and human rights protection. ADF used a combination of subgrants, training, and technical assistance to promote, encourage and support NGO efforts to provide legal assistance to refugee and displaced populations, as well as other vulnerable and minority groups in Croatia. Activities that promoted peaceful coexistence and inter-ethnic cooperation and reconciliation were also supported. This phase of ADF’s program evolved into the Reintegration of Populations Project in 1998. 

 

A key program that ADF launched during this period deserves special mention. During this period, ADF funded several projects that supported the identification of remains found in mass graves in Croatia. These programs benefited not only the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) but also family members of the victims. 

 

ADF worked with the Medical Center for Human Rights (MCHR) to provide support to the International Criminal Tribunal and families of missing persons. The MCHR had collected and provided the written testimony of hundreds of witnesses and/or victims of war crimes to the U.N. Commission of Human Rights Experts in 1993-1994. This Commission forwarded the information to ICTY at The Hague. Based on the preliminary investigation, the Sexual Assault Investigation Unit of ICTY called upon the MCHR to locate many witnesses for in-depth interviews whose testimony would be used to advance the on-going investigations and lead to indictments and possible trial testimony. The MCHR formed multi-disciplinary support teams consisting of a legal expert and a psychotherapist to locate the identified witnesses and provide pre- and post-interview support. From December 1995 to April 1996 ICTY investigators requested MCHR locate and provide legal and psychological assistance to 20 potential witnesses.

 

The MCHR assisted in activities related to the exhumation and identification of bodies buried in Ovcara, a village located near Vukovar in the UNTAES region beginning in August 1996. By October 1996, the exhumation of the Vukovar mass grave (200 bodies of people murdered in November 1991) was completed. The identification of remains was conducted at Department of Forensic Medicine, Zagreb University Medical School and was led by forensic anthropologist Dr. Clyde Snow

 

The MCHR mobile teams, consisting of medical professionals and lawyers, assessed needs and visited families of the missing in their homes in order to provide the legal and psycho-social assistance that was necessary. To help conduct these activities efficiently and professionally, ADF engaged the following experts to assist the MCHR in creating a family assistance network: Dr. Allene Jackson, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine at University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and Mr. Ray Blakely, the Director of Operations at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, played key roles in establishing a Family Support Network in the wake of the Oklahoma City federal building bombing

 

By February 1997, the total number of families visited was 148 (all targeted families in Zagreb area) with 341 family members affected; the total number of blood samples given was 60 (80%). As of November 30, 1997 93 persons were identified from Ovcara mass grave. The families of victims were given the medical and other documentation prepared by investigators with ICTY. Regarding burial of the remains, the wishes of the family were followed; 90% of the families expressed the desire to bury their loved one in Vukovar; temporarily the remains were buried in Mirogoj Cemetery, Zagreb and were relocated to Vukovar after the end of the UNTAES mandate.

 

During this period, ADF provided training and technical assistance to over 400 NGOs and provided 24 subgrants to Croatian NGOs. NGO activities supported the establishment of Croatian NGO legal aid offices providing legal assistance to over 7,500 people. Also, NGOs participated in such activities as the successful advocacy campaign on the Law of Associations, and assisting the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia in gathering evidence for the Hague and supporting identification of remains found in mass graves. 

This component was implemented from May 1996 through June 1997. ADF implemented the CRP with support from USAID and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (through the Norwegian Refugee Council). Staffed with a Norwegian and an American attorney as well as local attorneys and support staff, CRP operated from offices established in Beli Manastir and Vukovar, supported by an ADF project office in Osijek. The legal advice and assistance services were provided in coordination with the U.N. Document Centers and primarily focused on obtaining citizenship and personal documents for the population of the region. The situation stabilized in early 1997 as most residents of the UNTAES region received citizenship and supporting documentation. ADF's activities in support of this component concluded in June 1997 when ADF transferred management and administration of the UNTAES region project and the two offices in Beli Manastir and Vukovar to the Norwegian Refugee Council. At that time, ADF decided to concentrate its resources on augmenting its return and reintegration of populations work throughout Croatia. CRP provided advice and assistance to over 25,000 people. Appeals to negative decisions needed to be filed on behalf of only 1% of the entire population living in the UNTAES region. Six subgrants were awarded for NGO activities supporting reintegration, including the provision of legal assistance and implementation of reconciliation activities and public education. In addition, ADF registered Danubian-resident lawyers with the Croatian Bar Association, providing pro bono services for designated types of cases in return.

The Business Registration Project component, implemented from February 1997 through June 1998, complemented ADF’s program of assistance to individuals and contributed to the peaceful reintegration of the UNTAES territory and populations into Croatia’s legal system. Under this component ADF contributed to the economic security of Croatian citizens of all ethnic backgrounds in the UNTAES region by registering small and medium size enterprises, mostly Croatian Serb owned, which were headquartered and providing employment and other economic opportunities in the region. Once registered, these businesses were eligible to compete for international aid contracts on reconstruction and economic rehabilitation for the region. Over six hundred companies were registered, including 416 small training companies and 202 sole proprietorships. Thousands of other sole proprietorships were able to register using guidance prepared by ADF.                

 

ADF’s core program evolved into the Reintegration of Populations Project (RPP) in January 1998, providing support to the development of a Croatian NGO network of 26 legal assistance offices through ADF offices in Zagreb, Osijek, Pakrac, Glina and Knin. This component strengthened the ability of Croatian NGOs to facilitate the return and the reintegration of refugees returning to their homes of origin in the war-affected regions covered by these organizations. While providing immediate support to returnees, the RPP also stressed long-term impact and community building through strengthening and building the sustainability of local NGOs providing this support. Approximately 90,000 clients received legal assistance services related to their return and reintegration. ADF provided training and technical assistance to NGOs that resulted in new skills in eleven key competency areas. Also, NGO advocacy campaigns related to minority rights were supported, and a human rights monitoring network was established and trained.