In October, they registered 1.000 migrants

During October alone, more than 1.000 migrants were recorded in Montenegro, who are mostly in transit to reach the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, announced the head of the office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Dušica Živković.

At the parliamentary session for human rights and freedoms, she said that previously it was the case that around 500-600 migrants were recorded in Montenegro per month, but that towards the end of this year there was a significant increase.

"For migrants, Montenegro is only a transit zone. Data show that they stay in Montenegro for a short time, only a few days at a time, only as long as they need to find a way to continue their journey to other European countries," said Živković.

Vesna Jovićević, head of the operational team for the fight against human trafficking, claims that the eight-member team achieved good results: "We had 11 cases. During the year, a final decision was made in the case of human trafficking, where two people were sentenced to 15 and 17 years in prison Two proceedings are underway before the High Court in Podgorica, and we also have two cases under investigation at the High State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica."

She estimated that the professionalization of that team would lead to even better results and investigations in the field of human trafficking.

Head of Criminal Investigations of the Police Administration, Enis Baković, announced that from the beginning of the year until October 1, 60 people were prosecuted for illegal border crossing and people smuggling, and that this was 46 percent more compared to the same period in 2018.

"We at the UP made an analysis, where we noted some progress, but also saw weaknesses. We also brought a plan for further concrete results," emphasized Baković.

At the session, it was said that a special problem is the fact - that for more than a year there has been no specialized shelter for victims of human trafficking in Montenegro.

In the report and recommendations of the UN special rapporteur for the fight against human trafficking, Maria Gracija Đamarinaro, it is stated that the shelter, which has been operating since 2006, was closed because the NGO that worked there did not meet the criteria for obtaining a license.

The executive director of the Montenegrin Women's Lobby, Aida Petrović, said that it is not true that they did not meet the criteria, but that the state decided to close the shelter for victims of human trafficking...

Director General of the Directorate for Justice in the Ministry of Justice, Marijana Laković Drašković, emphasized that they are working on a model in order to reopen the shelter.

The UN rapporteur for the fight against human trafficking emphasized in the progress report that Montenegro has developed innovative regulations: "However, such innovative measures need to be implemented, and this will ultimately be a real challenge".