People with disabilities (PWDs) in Montenegro are once again celebrating May 5, the European Day of Independent Living, in a completely unenviable position and inadequate conditions for independent living, according to the Association of Young People with Disabilities of Montenegro (UMHCG).
The non-governmental organization (NGO) said that, despite the fact that Montenegro has committed to deinstitutionalization and community living for people with disabilities, the practice is fundamentally different.
"And it records a high degree of institutionalization of people with disabilities, both through placement in residential institutions, and through isolation and confinement in their own homes and thus exclusion from the community," said the UMHCG.
They stated that in addition, there are other restrictive environments in which people with disabilities of all ages are forced to live and reside, as well as the lack and underdevelopment of services in the community, especially those that support and enable independent living.
"In addition, people with disabilities living in closed institutions do not receive any or at least inadequate support from the state and local governments to leave the institution and live in the community," said the UMHCG.
It is stated that Montenegro received significant recommendations from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2017 in areas related to the independent living of persons with disabilities, especially within the framework of Article 19 - Independent Living and Community Inclusion and Article 28 - Social Protection and Adequate Standard of Living.
As it is added, in seven and a half years, the state has only fulfilled the recommendation relating to the deinstitutionalization strategy, by finally adopting the first strategic document of that type at the end of last year.
The UMHCG indicated that the adoption of the Law on Unified Disability Expertise, which has been announced for the past three years, is still pending and it was expected that the Government would finally adopt it in the first quarter of this year, in accordance with the defined deadline.
"It is precisely the implementation of this law that should enable the transition from a medical model of approaching disability to a model based on human rights and the assessment of necessary support in the area of independent living," the UMHCG statement says.
They said that although the 2017 Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in its concluding observations, called for the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and called on Montenegro to raise awareness of the importance of economic autonomy for women with disabilities, the state has done nothing on this issue.
"On the contrary, through its work with women with disabilities, UMHCG has recorded an increasing number of statements and testimonies of experiences in which women with disabilities are victims of various forms of violence, including economic violence and violence without protective mechanisms," the UMHCG pointed out.
This, it is added, completely limits the independence of women with disabilities, forcing them to live in fear and violence.
"And those who have children are afraid that they will be taken away from them, or such actions are initiated by social work centers, which should be the first line of defense and protection and the ones that should enable independent living, independence and dignity for these women," the statement says.
The UMHCG stated that Montenegro has still not committed to not building new institutions or other forms of segregating environments.
"But instead to develop a wide range of community-based services, including at the local level, that respond to the needs of people with disabilities and respect their autonomy, choices, dignity and privacy, and that include peer support and other alternatives to the medical model of mental health," the statement added.
Although accommodation institutions should never be a permanent and permanent service, but only temporary and occasional, Montenegro, as stated by the UMHCG, continues to invest resources in existing institutions, their adaptation, reconstruction and renovation.
"Because they will obviously remain permanent solutions for a significant number of persons with disabilities, despite the fact that such a practice is contrary to international standards," the statement said.
The UMHCG stated that they have witnessed talk for more than a decade about the relocation of people from Komanski Most, i.e. the overcrowding of the Special Hospital for Psychiatry Dobrota with so-called social patients.
They added that these institutions are still accepting new users in a complete lack of community support strategies.
It is alleged that younger PWDs are also placed in nursing homes because the state, as it is alleged, "thought of" stating in the founding documents/statutes of these institutions that they are intended for the accommodation of adults and the elderly.
"Despite the fact that there are serious allegations of rights violations, violence, torture and other forms of inhuman treatment and punishment in various accommodation institutions, no independent investigations are being conducted, and monitoring by independent institutions and bodies remains only recorded in the media without further outcomes and effects based on achieving justice," the UMHCG statement says.
They stated that, in addition, the state did not ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in all phases of the development of strategies and schemes for independent living.
"So it still happens that foreign expert support is used and respected more than the requests, experiences, knowledge and practices of us, the disabled, who live in Montenegro and for whom every decision that is made directly affects us, thus shaping our lives," the UMCH statement added.
The NGO said that Montenegro does not regularly monitor the living costs of people with disabilities.
"And accordingly, it does not adjust disability benefits, while the existing benefits are unfair anyway and cannot be achieved by numerous categories of disabled people," the statement says.
As stated, although material benefits, such as care and assistance allowance and personal disability allowance, have increased in recent years, they still do not keep up with the living costs resulting from disability, as a social phenomenon that results from the interaction of impairment (as a personal characteristic) and environmental and attitudinal barriers and lack of support.
Despite this, the state, as stated by the UMHCG, has introduced a participation fee for some social and child protection services for people with disabilities, while, as it is added, treating them discriminatory and unequally compared to some other service users.
"At the same time, the state still does not provide all services prescribed by the Law on Social and Child Protection," said the UMHCG.
They said that they are therefore calling on the Minister of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography, Damir Gutić, to make amendments or the drafting of a new law completely transparent.
"And to enable their participation at all stages, even before the public debate, in order to make the announcements made at the meeting on the occasion of last year's 'Day of Persons with Disabilities' a reality," the statement added.
The UMHCG stated that otherwise, they can only recall the photos and statements from the meeting until December 3rd.
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