The EU will demand that Montenegro concretely prove that it respects human rights

The European Union (EU), after the opening of negotiations on Chapter 23, will insist on concrete evidence that human rights are respected in practice in Montenegro, it was announced at a press conference on the occasion of 60 years of application of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms. The representative of the EU Delegation in Podgorica, Alberto Kamarata, said that Montenegro has improved the legislative framework in the area of ​​human rights and freedoms, but must continue to harmonize its laws with the legal acquis of the Union during the negotiations. "When the negotiations on Chapter 23 open, we will to insist even more on concrete evidence of the application of the law and the implementation of court decisions. Our goal is to see that human rights are respected in practice", specified Kamarata. In this context, as he stated, the EU expects the status of the displaced and internally displaced, especially the Roma, to improve, for Montenegro to become physically and institutionally more accessible to people with disabilities, for members of the LGBT population to be protected and for them to become equal members of society. According to him, the EU expects the position of women to be improved, conditions in prisons to improve, Montenegro to fight impunity and torture and inhumane treatment to be sanctioned. "Freedom of speech and protection of journalists also remain a key priority, and as such will be a subject of attention in the negotiation process", stressed Kamarata. He reminded that, by adopting the action plan for chapter 23, the Montenegrin Government committed itself to fulfill those goals. "This obliges Montenegro to offer visible results, by showing that it is ready to protect the human rights of all citizens, regardless of their differences", Kamarata said.

Duković: The most important change in consciousness The President of the Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights, Halil Duković, said that Montenegro has clearly outlined European integration as the path to follow, which implies significant adaptation to European standards. As he explained, this does not mean only passing laws that are in line with European legislation, but also their implementation. "The most important thing, however, is the change in our awareness of the importance of respecting human rights and freedoms, which constitutes the very essence of European identity," emphasized Duković. He assessed that Montenegro, in seven years since the restoration of independence, has achieved a lot, explained, it shows that they worked hard to fulfill all the obligations on the path of the European institutions. "But we all have to make an additional effort to reach the awareness of every citizen of Montenegro about the importance of human rights and freedoms, because that is the only way to make a citizen of Montenegro citizen of Europe", concluded Duković.

Baković: New regulations and institutions are not the solutionThe protector of human rights and freedoms, Šućko Baković, said that the human rights and freedoms contained in the European Convention are the so-called standard, that is, the minimum below which a member state of the Council of Europe cannot go. He reminded that with Montenegro's accession to the European Convention, its citizens were given the right to seek protection before the European Court of Human Rights with an individual application in case of violation or threat of guaranteed rights. According to him, Montenegro has largely rounded off the legal framework for the protection of human rights and freedoms and established all the institutions that are necessary for the legal norms to be well implemented, and the right to be effectively guaranteed. still exist, which is confirmed by numerous appeals from citizens to the Protector of Human Rights and the European Court", emphasized Baković. He assessed that the solution is not to pass new regulations or establish new institutions, which are not given real power. "The right way is to increase efficiency and strengthening the capacity and responsibility of existing bodies and institutions for consistent application of the law", believes Baković. He believes that in this way, Montenegro will show that the existing high standards are incorporated into its legal system because it was really wanted, and that it is really being pursued, and not for the sake of gaining points on the way to EU membership. "Consistent application of regulations must become a daily practice and reach the status of a cultural pattern of behavior, so that Montenegrin citizens would really feel that justice resides in Montenegro, and not only in Strasbourg and The Hague", emphasized Baković.

Radović: Different truths, but one is that there is a victim of the attackThe representative of the Civic Alliance, Milan Radović, agreed that progress in the protection of human rights has recently been recorded in Montenegro, but that a lot of work still needs to be done in order for the level of those rights to be at a satisfactory level. are worrisome, and where our institutions will still have to do a lot of work," emphasized Radović. He reminded that Montenegro is among the countries that submitted the most applications to the Court in Strasbourg in relation to the number of inhabitants, and that the Court judged that a constitutional appeal , which exists as a mechanism in Montenegro, is not an effective legal remedy. "The priority in the next phase should be for the Constitutional Court to be a filter for the protection of the human rights of the citizens of Montenegro, before they turn to the court in Strasbourg," believes Radović. He emphasized that Montenegro cannot boast of efficient and independent investigations, even though state institutions are obliged to conduct them on all allegations of human rights violations. "Unfortunately, we cannot boast that the prosecution conducted independent and effective investigations that would later lead to perpetrators and orderers of numerous wrongdoings," said Radović. He recalled the most recent affair whose main actor is former policeman Brajuško Brajušković and where, as he stated, different truths are presented in public. "No one mentions that one truth is that in There are victims of those attacks in Montenegro, and on the other hand, we don't have information from the competent institutions about who committed and ordered those attacks," said Radović. He said that the Prosecutor's Office does not deserve the great trust of the non-governmental sector. "But now everything is up to him and we expect the Prosecutor's Office to finally understand that it has to work independently and efficiently, so that all these cases are brought to light," added Radović. Duković said that Montenegro has proven that it has the capacity, and that it has done a lot in seven years." Let's not expect that everything that happened in some dark times can be revealed, but I believe that the institutions will have the capacity to get to the real truth, and that all the victims who were born in that period will experience some satisfaction", said Duković. When asked which human rights are most often violated in Montenegro, Kamarata said that the EU Delegation receives the most complaints about violations of procedural and property rights before the courts, while the Ombudsperson receives the most complaints about violations of the right to free access to information, delays in court proceedings and court work. .