NPWJ welcomes the election of Ivo Josipovic as a confirmation of Croatia’s commitment to rule of law, justice and accountability

Press release in Italian
 
The candidate of the opposition Social Democrats Mr Ivo Josipovic has won the second and final round of Croatia's presidential elections with more than 60 per cent of the vote on 10 January 2010. Mr Josipovic, a professor in international law and music composer, was previously hired as an independent expert by the government to draft the law on Croatia's cooperation with the ICTY - one of the key conditions for Croatia's entry into the EU – and headed the Croatian delegation to the Rome Conference that adopted the Statute for the International Criminal Court.

Statement by Sergio Stanzani and Niccoló Figa-Talamanca, President and Secretary-General of No Peace Without Justice:
 
“No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) and the Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty (NRPTT) welcome the election of Social Democrat Ivo Josipovic as the new President of Croatia, which confirms the commitment of Croatia to close the accounts with the past as well as to anchor itself ever more firmly to the European Union.
 
“Mr Josipovic's election is first and foremost a resounding victory for Croatia, which has clearly chosen the path towards the assertion of the rule of law, justice and full accountability before the international community and, most importantly, its own citizens.
 
“We hope that Mr Josipovic’s pledges to help the government's efforts to remove the main remaining obstacles in Croatia's EU accession talks will conclude the final phase of the lengthy and painstaking path to making Croatia the 28th member of the European Union by 2012.”
 
For further information, contact Nicola Giovannini on ngiovannini@npwj.org or +32-2-548-3914.