The executive director of Action for Human Rights (HRA), Tea Gorjanc Prelevic, recommended yesterday at the preparatory meeting for the Universal Periodic Review of the state of human rights for Montenegro (Universal Periodic Review - UPR) the consideration of the vetting of all judges and state prosecutors, the implementation of the recommendations of the treaty bodies of the United Nations (UN) and the Council of Europe (GRECO and the Venice Commission), proactive prosecution of war crimes, effective investigations into reports of torture and attacks on journalists, and mandatory suspension of all civil servants accused of torture.
The HRA announced that, in addition to the HRA, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Center for Women's Rights (CŽP), the Civic Alliance (GA) and the Roma youth organization "Koračite sa nama – Phiren Amenca" participated yesterday in the preparatory meeting for the Universal Periodic State Review of human rights for Montenegro (Universal Periodic Review - UPR).
"At the meeting, they presented the delegations of the UN member states with information on the state of (dis)respect for human rights in Montenegro in the areas they deal with and advocated that their recommendations be included among the recommendations that Montenegro should fulfill in the coming period," he points out. in the announcement of the HRA.
The NGO added that each speaker had a strictly limited time of five minutes to make observations about the development of the situation regarding respect for human rights compared to 2018, when Montenegro was last on the agenda of this UN mechanism.
"HRA Executive Director, Tea Gorjanc Prelevic, spoke about the need to strengthen the independence and responsibility of the judiciary, as a prerequisite for the protection of all human rights. She recommended considering the vetting of all judges and state prosecutors, implementing the recommendations of UN treaty bodies and the Council of Europe (GRECO and the Venice commission), proactive prosecution of war crimes, effective investigations of reports of torture and attacks on journalists, and the mandatory suspension of all civil servants accused of torture," the announcement reads.
The executive director of the CŽP, Maja Raičević, spoke about gender equality, access to justice, representation of women in politics and gender-based discrimination in the field of work, as well as the poverty of women and the related poverty of children.
"She recommended that Montenegro improve the provisions against discrimination against women and that the state enable the effective application of the Law on Temporary Child Support and quick payments from the Alimony Fund," HRA said.
Legal adviser in GA, Ivana Đođić, spoke about asylum seekers, persons with temporary and international protection and persons at risk of statelessness in Montenegro.
"She recommended Montenegro to work on improving the capacity of the Directorate for Asylum, to provide access to rights for persons who are in the process of determining the status of stateless persons, for the competent institutions to make a decision to determine the status of stateless persons within the deadline provided by law, and to provide access and harmonize legislative framework for persons with approved temporary protection in Montenegro," HRA said.
The executive director of "Phiren Amenca", Elvis Beriša, spoke about the necessity of adopting the Act on organizing school transport for Roma children as a precondition for the realization of the program of desegregation of Roma children, enabling the right to study in the Roma mother tongue and introducing affirmative action when enrolling in faculties for Roma the community.
"He pointed out the many years of political discrimination against the Roma and suggested amending the electoral legislation in order to realize the general principle of non-discrimination in the political participation of the Roma. He recommended that Montenegro take concrete steps to facilitate the approach to solving the legal status of the Roma with a focus on the necessary registration of children immediately after birth, regardless on their parents' documentation or residence status," the HRA stated.
The preparatory meeting is held one month before the session of the UPR Working Group of the UN Human Rights Council, the body that implements the UPR, which will prepare a report on the state of human rights with recommendations for improvement. On May 8, the state delegation of Montenegro will have the opportunity to present progress compared to the previous UPR report from 2018 and answer questions from other countries, which will then give recommendations to Montenegro. The session on May 8 will be broadcast live on the Internet, from 12.30 a.m. to XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.
This is the fourth cycle of the UPR, and the cycle lasts from four to five years. On average, each country receives about 200 recommendations for improving the state of human rights in relation to various topics: economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights, as well as the principles of international humanitarian law.
The UPR is a unique process initiated by the United Nations with the aim of improving the human rights situation in UN member states and addressing human rights violations in those countries.
This process is led by the states, in cooperation with the Human Rights Council, which gives each state the opportunity to state what activities they have undertaken to improve the human rights situation in their countries and fulfill their obligations to respect human rights. The UPR process is designed to provide equal treatment for each country - each is subject to review and each can make recommendations. Currently, there is no other universal mechanism of this type.
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