The political crisis after the change of government in 2020, the reorganization of the state administration, a cyber attack and the late adoption of the budget for last year led to the fact that some activities to improve the quality of life of LGBTI people were not implemented.
This is written in the action plan for the implementation of the Strategy for improving the lives of this population, which was adopted by the Government yesterday.
Nevertheless, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights claims that in the last 12 months, among the key achievements of the strategy were the beginning of drafting the Law on legal recognition of gender identity based on self-determination, the successful organization of the tenth jubilee Pride Parade, which, according to the organizers and media reports, is the most numerous to date now, as well as improving the capacity and knowledge of a significant number of police officers, judges, prosecutors, students and teaching staff in primary and secondary schools about the human rights of LGBTI persons. Strengthening of trust between the police and the LGBTI community was made possible through the Support Team, while 150 primary and secondary school teachers were educated.
According to the document, as soon as possible, all the necessary laws should be harmonized with the Law on Life Partnership of Persons of the Same Sex, in order to enable its full application, and it is necessary, among other things, to adopt the Program for the Development of Tourist Offer for LGBTI Tourists in Montenegro. They remind that more than 20 partnerships were concluded by the end of last year.
"In the coming period, it is necessary to continue the training of members of the police, judiciary, teaching and professional staff in primary and secondary schools, medical and social workers, registry offices in local municipalities, as well as representatives of other institutions responsible for law enforcement in the field of protecting the human rights of LGBTI persons from violence and discrimination, in order to strengthen the application of the law," the document of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights states, among other things.
It was recommended that during this year research be done within the LGBTI community on the degree of discrimination in all areas of social life, but also on the number of successfully prosecuted cases of discrimination and violence before the police authorities, judiciary and prosecutor's office.
The Ministry reminds that during 2022, the sixth research on discrimination was conducted, on the basis of which it was estimated that the percentage of residents who felt discriminated against in the period from 2010 to last year was significantly reduced.
"However, despite the significant efforts that we directed in the previous period in order to improve the quality of life of LGBTI people in Montenegrin society, the results of the research show that the average degree of discrimination for all vulnerable groups is the highest in the field of employment, and compared to 2010, we measure an increased degree of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation," the document states, among other things.
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