The non-governmental organization LGBT Forum Progress announced that the report of the European Commission clearly confirmed that Montenegro has not made progress in protecting the human rights of LGBTI persons.
"In its annual progress report for Montenegro, which was published on November 8, the European Commission confirmed everything that the Montenegrin LGBTI community continuously warned about during the previous year - that there is no progress in protecting the human rights of LGBTI persons, that hate speech and discrimination are on the rise and that the application of legal protection mechanisms is inadequate," said the NGO.
The report, as they said, unequivocally points out that there has been no progress in the protection of the human rights of LGBTI persons in Montenegro and that numerous cases of hate speech against LGBTI persons are worrisome. "In addition, it was established that social polarization, misogyny and hate speech are on the rise, and that vulnerable groups, such as LGBTI persons, continued to experience multiple discrimination and challenges in achieving equal rights," they added.
The LGBT Forum Progres indicates that the EC emphasized the urgent need for effective resolution of all forms of discrimination using legal protection mechanisms. Also, it was pointed out that there was no progress in the process of harmonizing the legislative framework in the part of harmonizing it with the Law on Life Partnership of Persons of the Same Sex, the NGO points out.
"There was also a special review of cases of hate speech that were prosecuted as misdemeanors, of which there were 76 in the reporting period. We remind you that LGBT Forum Progress is the only organization that has a system for monitoring and reporting online hate speech on social networks, and that from the beginning In 2023, submit 222 applications," the announcement states.
LGBT Forum Progres welcomed the EC's appeal for Montenegro to amend and adopt laws in accordance with the acquis of the EU, European and international standards on, among other things, the fight against discrimination, hate crimes and hate speech, and harmonize the Law on Life Partnerships of Persons of the Same Sex from 2020.
"We call on the Government and all relevant actors to finally take the issue of the human rights of LGBTI persons in Montenegro seriously and to approach the essential, systemic and comprehensive solution to the problems that LGBTI persons face every day, and which the European Commission has clearly pointed out," concludes the announcement.
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