Whereas the United States recognized the Republic of
Croatia on April 7, 1992, acknowledging the decision of the people of Croatia
to live in an independent, democratic, and sovereign country;
Whereas since achieving their independence, the people of
Croatia have dedicated themselves to building a functioning democratic society,
based on the rule of law, respect for human rights, and a free market
economy;
Whereas Croatia has made progress in judicial reform and
has adopted a judicial reform strategy;
Whereas Croatia has demonstrated a desire to protect
minority rights and promote a viable multiethnic society;
Whereas, in 2002, Croatia adopted the Constitutional Law
on the Rights of National Minorities, ensuring the representation of minorities
in the Parliament of Croatia and the establishment of the councils of national
minorities;
Whereas the Government of Croatia has concluded specific
bilateral agreements on the protection of minority rights with Hungary, Italy,
and Serbia and Montenegro and has concluded an agreement on cooperation with
representatives of the Independent Democratic Serb Party in the Parliament of
Croatia;
Whereas three prominent members of the Parliament of
Croatia, Ratko Gajica, Milorad Pupovac, and Vojislav Stanimirovic, who
represent the Serb minority, sent a letter to the Assistant to the President
for National Security Affairs, Stephen Hadley, expressing their support for the
Prime Minister of Croatia, Ivo Sanader, and for Croatia’s path toward
membership in the European Union and in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO
);
Whereas Croatia has shown dedication to advancing the
return, reconstruction, and restitution of property in Croatia;
Whereas Croatia has proven to be a reliable partner of the
United States in seeking the stabilization of the region;
Whereas Croatia participated in the Iraq International
Conference held in Brussels on June 22, 2005, and offered to train and educate
nationals of Iraq at universities in Croatia;
Whereas Croatia is taking part in the training of Iraqi
security forces at the International Training Center in Jordan and has offered
to train additional security personnel for Iraq in Croatia;
Whereas Croatia has been a partner in the war against
terrorism, sent troops to Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International
Security Assistance Force in support of the war against terrorism in 2002, and
has provided civilians to staff the Provincial Reconstruction Team under the
leadership of NATO in Fayzabad;
Whereas, during July 2005, Croatia adopted a decision to
triple its military presence in the International Security Assistance
Force;
Whereas Croatia has endorsed and is participating in the
Proliferation Security Initiative with like-minded nations across the world to
prevent the flow of weapons of mass destruction, missile systems, and related
material;
Whereas, on June 1, 2005, Croatia was the fourth nation to
sign the Proliferation Security Initiative Shipboarding Agreement with the
United States to prevent the maritime transfer of dangerous shipments of
weapons or other illicit materials to keep such weapons and materials out of
the hands of dangerous actors and terrorists;
Whereas, since Croatia has become an independent country,
the United States has shown support for Croatia in many ways, including by
providing Croatia with economic and military assistance that has contributed
significantly to the progress and continued success occurring in
Croatia;
Whereas the United States has encouraged Croatia’s
transformation and the future membership of Croatia in NATO;
Whereas a whole and free Europe cannot be fully achieved
without the integration into NATO of all countries that share the common values
of democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights;
Whereas the Membership Action Plan developed for NATO,
which was launched in April 1999, is a program of assistance that provides both
goals and a roadmap for countries aspiring to membership in NATO;
Whereas Croatia was invited into the Membership Action
Plan in May 2002 and has made substantial progress toward the achievement of
the reforms required for receiving an invitation to start accession talks with
NATO;
Whereas the United States, Croatia, Albania, and Macedonia
are signatories to the United States-Adriatic Charter for Partnership, which
promotes Euro-Atlantic integration and commits the signatory nations to the
values and principles of NATO and to membership in NATO at the earliest
possible time;
Whereas Croatia supports regional cooperation as a means
of bringing stability to Europe, particularly Southeast Europe, and has
cooperated with the countries that neighbor Croatia to promote such stability,
including providing technical and other assistance to countries that seek
membership in the European Union;
Whereas, on October 3, 2005, the European Union decided to
open accession negotiations with Croatia based on the assessment of the
European Union's Council of Ministers that Croatia met the political and
economic criteria for candidacy in the European Union, including that Croatia
was fully cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia;
Whereas the cooperation between the Government of Croatia
and the Tribunal improved significantly under Prime Minister Ivo
Sanader;
Whereas, since November 2003, Croatia has handed over to
the Tribunal eleven individuals indicted for war crimes;
Whereas the cooperation of the Government of Croatia with
the Tribunal assisted in the arrest of Ante Gotovina on December 8, 2005, in
Spain and his transfer to the Tribunal on December 10, 2005;
Whereas the success of the Government of Croatia in
bringing war criminals to justice demonstrates the commitment of the Government
to move Croatia toward a brighter future of peace, stability, and prosperity
for its people; and
Whereas Croatia shares the common interests and values of
the free and democratic world: Now, therefore, be it
That—
(1)since the
Republic of Croatia became an independent country, the Government and people of
Croatia have made significant progress in strengthening democratic
institutions, respect for human rights, and the rule of law in Croatia;
(2)Croatia's
membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO
)
would contribute to stability in Southeast Europe;
(3)it is the sense
of the Senate that—
(A)the Government
and people of Croatia should be commended for their progress on protecting
minority rights in Croatia, progress toward achieving the political, economic,
military, and other requirements of NATO's Membership Action Plan, contribution
to the International Security Assistance Force and the war against terrorism,
and for their constructive participation in the Proliferation Security
Initiative and in the United States-Adriatic Charter;
(B)the Government of
Croatia should be commended for its cooperation with the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia which led to the apprehension and transfer
of several individuals indicted for war crimes, including Ante Gotovina, to the
Tribunal;
(C)the Government of
Croatia should continue its cooperation with the Tribunal;
(D)the Government of
Croatia should continue and strengthen its role as a partner on
nonproliferation and its support in the war against terrorism and in
Iraq;
(E)the Government of
Croatia should continue its efforts to implement defense reforms; and
(F)the Government of
the United States should continue and increase its defense and security
cooperation with the Government of Croatia, including through education,
training, and technical cooperation, to assist Croatia in the reform process
and in fulfilling its requirements for membership in NATO; and
(4)upon complete
satisfaction of the criteria for NATO membership, in accordance with NATO's
guidelines, Croatia should be invited to be a full member of NATO at the
earliest possible date.