A representative of the NGO Mladiinfo Montenegro attended the round table “Between Law and Practice: Key Obstacles and Challenges in the Field of Protection of LGBTIQ Persons in Montenegro” organized by the Center for Monitoring and Research (CeMI), within the project “Equality of LGBTIQ Persons before the Law – improving the rights of LGBTIQ persons in court proceedings ”.
“Research conducted by the Center for Monitoring and Research within this project indicates that most crimes against LGBTIQ persons are prosecuted in misdemeanor proceedings, while rarely as criminal proceedings, most often by applying the Law on Public Order and Peace, and not the Law on Prohibition discrimination, “said Milica Zrnovic, CeMI’s public policy researcher.
The representative of the Directorate for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms in the Ministry of Justice, Human and Minority Rights, Semra Martinović, said: “Montenegro has set the basic normative framework for protection against discrimination and violence against the LGBT population in a quality manner and in accordance with international standards. . In the area of misdemeanor legal protection, I would like to emphasize the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and intersex characteristics. ”
The Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, Siniša Bjeković, stated that the misdemeanor courts in their practice had cases concerning victims who had the property of different orientations. “All data from 2018 and 2019 show that there were about sixty cases a year in the work of misdemeanor courts, which was a clear signal that it is necessary to channel the provisions of these laws when we have stricter sanctions in certain areas,” Bjekovic said.
The executive director of the Spectrum Association, Jovan Ulićević, said that the LGBTI community is treated as a homogeneous whole, without recognizing the specifics that certain communities within the LGBTI community encounter.
“We strive to contribute to increasing the level of respect for human rights in Montenegro by members of the LGBTIQ community, reduce discrimination, increase public awareness and awareness of sensitive treatment of LGBTIQ people in Montenegro in court proceedings,” said Maja Bjelic, project coordinator at CeMI.
To conclude this topic, it was pointed out that we do not stop believing that it will be acceptable to express our sexual and gender orientation in Montenegro as well.
