D. Domestic War Crimes Programme, OSCE Mission to Croatia 130 Model A staff programme of the OSCE Mission to Croatia funded through the OSCE unified budget. Inception The Mission has been monitoring war-crimes procedures from arrest to appeal in a systematic manner and countrywide since 2002. Objectives • To assess whether the Croatian courts are prosecuting war-crimes cases impartially with respect to the defendant’s national origin; • To assess additional issues with regard to the impartial and fair prosecution of war-crimes cases, including witness security, inter-state co-operation, and adequacy of defence counsel; • To assess whether serious cases that have not been prosecuted are pursued by the authorities; • To assess the application of international standards in war-crimes cases transferred under Rule 11 bis of the ICTY Rules of Procedure. Reports “Domestic war crimes trials” (annual reports 2002-2005); “War crime procedures in Croatia and findings from trial monitoring” (2004); “Background report on domestic war crime prosecutions, transfer of ICTY proceedings and missing persons” (2005). Partners Between 2003 and 2006, two annual reports were issued jointly with the Ministry of Justice (although the Ministry was never officially considered an operational partner). Monitoring Staff Approximately 20 national and international staff from the Mission’s Rule of Law Unit monitor war-crimes cases (from arrest to the appeals stage) in their geographic area of responsibility. Achievements • Monitoring and reports have identified and documented systemic disparities relating to ethnic bias in the prosecution of war-crimes cases; • Using a comparative analysis, bias has been objectively documented in the numbers of individuals prosecuted, the standards for criminal responsibility applied, the application of aggravating and mitigating circumstances in sentencing; and the numbers and reasons for reversals; • Some improvements in the trials of war crimes have also been observed, including a decrease in the numbers of absentia trials and increased efforts by domestic authorities to pursue all individuals responsible for war crimes; • The Mission’s war-crimes reports have routinely been cited by other international organizations such as the UN (ICTY) and the European Commission. Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners