The Law on Unified Disability Expertise should be adopted by the end of the second quarter of this year, said Irena Rakočević, Director General of the Directorate for Protection and Equality of Persons with Disabilities at the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights (MHMR).
At the same time, the executive director of the Association of Youth with Disabilities, Marina Vujačić, believes that this act should have been adopted earlier.
Rakočević and Vujačić spoke on a podcast by the MINA Agency, which is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Media from the Fund for Encouraging Media Pluralism and Diversity.
Rakočević said that the laws on the prohibition of discrimination and the prohibition of discrimination against persons with disabilities, as well as the adoption of the law on a unified disability assessment, are a prerequisite for being able to say that persons with disabilities (PWDs) can enjoy human rights.
Rakočević told the MINA agency that the performance in implementing the Strategy for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities from Discrimination last year was at the level of 95 percent.
She explained that the missing five percent includes the adoption of a law on unified disability expertise.
"A new law on the prohibition of discrimination and a set of laws that should ensure the political participation of persons with disabilities have not yet been passed," Rakočević stated.
Asked when the adoption of that law is planned, Rakočević replied that that act has been in the system for a long time.
"The law is planned to be adopted by the end of the second quarter of this year," announced Rakočević.
She emphasized that the adoption of this law is a basic condition for achieving a unified disability assessment.
"Thereby, in order to establish an institute for expert examination and to finally obtain a realistic registry in accordance with objective and unique criteria for persons with disabilities," said Rakočević.
She added that policies for various forms of disability can be created based on this registry.
The Executive Director of the Association of Youth with Disabilities, Marina Vujačić, assessed that the law on unified disability expertise should have been passed long ago because the public debate ended in 2022.
"For the third year in a row, we have been waiting for the draft law to finally be determined at the government level and sent further into the parliamentary procedure," said Vujačić.
According to her, the delay occurs for several reasons.
"Someone is clearly resisting reform of the system when it comes to people with disabilities, including a unified disability assessment," Vujačić believes.
Vujačić pointed out that the relevant minister, Damir Gutić, promised that the law would be passed in the first quarter of this year.
"So it's a surprise to me now to hear about a second quarter at all, which would further delay this process," Vujačić pointed out.
She appealed to finally stop compensating for someone else's interests at the expense of people with disabilities.
Speaking about the position of people with disabilities, Vujačić said that it is still unsatisfactory.
"For over 15 years, we have had a law on the ratification of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, by which we have committed ourselves, by ratifying the Convention, to, among other things, harmonizing our legislation with that document," Vujčić reminded.
She stated that the state was obliged under the Convention to repeal all laws that were in conflict with the Convention, which, she said, did not happen.
"We still have a dominant medical model of approach to disability in our legislation, which the European Commission (EC) is warning us about," said Vujačić.
She added that the State and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities warned the state about this in 2017.
"We can definitely only talk about equality and equity in practice if we do not have adequate access in numerous areas, for example, in education or employment and work, social protection, especially in the area of social and child protection services," Vujačić pointed out.
She said that significant funds are allocated in the area of social protection, but the question is whether they are evenly distributed and whether they reach those who need to exercise those rights.
Vujačić believes that a lot of what should have been done has been missed.
"Although there are positive aspects, although there are individuals in the system who are truly committed and doing the best they can and are able to do and want to, we have constant regression and some practices that are unacceptable in today's times," Vujačić assessed.
When asked why the same problems have been recurring for years, Rakočević replied that this area requires, first of all, normative and then institutional regulation.
"And it takes time and it's always a process," said Rakočević.
She believes that the position of people with disabilities will also be improved with the new umbrella law on discrimination, which is currently with the EC.
"We are waiting, these days we hope to receive a final positive opinion. What we see as progress is that three weeks ago we issued a public call for early consultations regarding the adoption of an action plan for the implementation of the recommendations of the UN Committee on Persons with Disabilities," said Rakočević.
She also highlighted that the Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is functional again.
Rakočević stated that three sessions of the Council were held, which submitted a proposal to the Government to finally work on a law on the representativeness of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of persons with disabilities.
"Which is also one of the key laws that should separate NGOs that deal with people with disabilities and those that fight for the rights of people with disabilities," Rakočević assessed.
Asked how much unrepresentative NGOs make it difficult to improve the position of people with disabilities, Vujačić replied that they "certainly make it difficult" and said that this is the responsibility of the state, that is, the system.
"The state has allowed anyone to represent themselves and advocate for the rights of people with disabilities or their interests. Many represent their own interests through our backs and lives, but I say, the state is responsible because it was obliged to recognize representative organizations of people with disabilities," said Vujačić.
She added that the state is obliged to define representativeness as such.
"That organization should be represented and represented by a person with a disability, that is, someone who has the status of a person with a disability and who publicly declares themselves as such, that the membership, or rather the users of the services of that organization, should be a person with a disability, and that the management bodies should consist of at least 50 percent of a person with a disability, which is currently not a very large number of organizations in Montenegro," Vujačić stated.
Speaking about employment, Vujačić said that people with disabilities most often acquire their qualifications informally.
She added that people with disabilities do not have the services in the community that they need to live adequately independently.
"And because of these unequal starting positions, it is necessary for the state to protect such organizations and stand behind them," said Vujačić.
She stated that this is not a system where someone should allocate funds to them just because they are PWDs.
"But precisely because of this initial inequality, it is the state's responsibility to cooperate closely with such organizations," Vujačić believes.
She said that it would be ideal if people with disabilities could be employed in any sector, if they were competitive in the labor market, if they could choose their professions, if they could do what they were educated for.
"But that is not the situation in Montenegro right now, and that is why it is logical that the movement of people with disabilities is weaker," Vujačić pointed out.
She pointed out that the country "rushed a bit" to ratify the conventions much faster than some more developed countries.
"Including, for example, Western European countries, with which we cannot compare in one segment when it comes to access to persons with disabilities, but that is why we are not as quick and zealous in implementing the convention itself and our obligations," said Vujačić.
She criticized changes to the law regarding the employment of people with disabilities that could reduce subsidies to employers. Vujačić said that allegations of abuse of subsidies, which had previously been discussed in public, had never been factually proven.
"Let the Ministry of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography and the Employment Agency conduct an analysis to see what the data has shown them, whether subsidies really need to be limited, and then let's talk at the level of facts," said Vujačić.
Speaking about what the MHRR is doing regarding the employment of people with disabilities, Rakočević said that this is the responsibility of another ministry and that the MHRR coordinates policies.
Speaking about the EC Report, Rakočević said that she expects the new one to be better because the Council is also functional, which, as she stated, was a complaint in the previous one, and she announced the adoption of an Action Plan for the Adoption of CRPD Recommendations.
Vujačić agrees that the new report will be better.
"In this one segment, it certainly will. It is an indisputable fact that the Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is, I won't say functional, but in the sense that it holds sessions and strengthens capacities. And in that sense, these things will be stated," said Vujačić.
She said that it would be welcomed positively if the law on a unified disability assessment was finally adopted.
Vujačić called on the Ministry of Justice to harmonize laws in order to improve the position of persons with disabilities.
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