Montenegro strives to ensure respect for the human rights and freedoms of all its citizens on a non-discriminatory basis, regardless of any of their personal characteristics, said Minister of Human and Minority Rights Fatmir Đeka during a meeting with the directors of non-governmental organizations in the field of protecting the rights of the LGBTIQ population.
As stated in the announcement from this government department, Đeka spoke with the executive director of the NGO LGBT Forum Progres John Barca and the director of the LGBTIQ Social Center Milica Špajak.
"Đeka reiterated the willingness of the Government to work actively and dedicatedly on all key challenges in the continuation of the accession path to the European Union. Montenegro has defined a national LGBTI policy, is implementing the second Strategy for Improving the Quality of Life of LGBT Persons in Montenegro, adopted the Law on life partnership of persons of the same sex, began work on the preparation of the Law on legal recognition of gender based on self-determination," the announcement reads.
He pointed out that progress has been made, that social awareness in Montenegro is strengthening every day in the direction of greater tolerance and acceptance of diversity, but that there is still a lot of work to be done in the implementation of the legal framework.
"There is a set of laws that should be harmonized with the Law on Life Partnership of Persons of the Same Sex, but I am of the opinion that everything that starts with good intentions ends well," Đeka added.
In the announcement, they added that he welcomed the cooperation with the civil sector in the implementation of the national policy in this area and pointed out that everyone from their sphere of activity should provide maximum efforts in order to have visible progress. He assessed the joint implementation of strategic policies as very important, and believes that if joint forces act, the community will be helped faster and better, and the support of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights will certainly not be missing.
Barac thanked Đeka for, as stated in the announcement, recognizing the importance of the challenges the LGBTIQ community is currently facing and invited them to discuss strengthening cooperation. He pointed out that the main task of the organizations LGBT Forum Progress and LGBTIQ Social Center is the protection and promotion of human rights of LGBTIQ persons in Montenegro and that their work is directed towards the fight for equality, dignity and respect of all citizens in Montenegro under equal conditions.
"As the biggest current challenges, Barac cites the non-functioning of the Shelter, which has been closed for half a year due to the lack of financial resources and system support. He also assessed the inadequate implementation of the Law on Life Partnerships of Persons of the Same Sex as a bad message. In this regard, Barac expressed the hope that the 43rd convocation of the Government of Montenegro will have the strength and perseverance to reform the process, but also to move its implementation from the point of stagnation," the statement added.
The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights concluded that Đeka expressed his satisfaction with the open approach and communication achieved at the meeting and that he gave the assurance that he would fully support the activities of the LGBTI community within the framework of his competence.
"Through public tenders for the implementation of strategic goals from sectoral analyses, this Ministry allocates significant funds every year for the financing of NGO projects in this area," the announcement concludes.
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