PODGORICA – During the accession process, Montenegro must ensure that adequate legal instruments are in place to prevent discrimination and hence to protect human rights for everyone, and not just on paper, but in practice,said the Head of EU Delegation to Montenegro, Ambassador Mitja Drobnič, on the conference which marked the start of the project “Support to the National Institutions in Preventing Discrimination in Montenegro (PREDIM)”.
Ambassador Drobnič said that Montenegro is gradually shifting its focus from incorporating EU standards into its legislation to improving its institutional framework and supporting activities that make anti-discrimination possible. However the EU expects from Montenegro to strengthen the independence, accountability and overall effectiveness of the judicial system, to match progress in the alignment of legislation with an increased institutional capacity, in particular for the fight against discrimination, the prison system and the protection of minorities, as well as to ensure effective penalties for human rights violations.
On this road Montenegro enjoys continuous support from the EU. Theproject PREDIM was financed with €700,000, through a grant contract with the Council of Europe.
“The EU supports this project in order to enhance the efficiency of the line Ministry to promote and protect human rights of marginalised groups, such as LGBTI, Roma and other ethnic minorities or people with disabilities and improve capacity of the Ombudsman to process anti-discrimination cases and carry out its role as the National Prevention Mechanism. The prison system will be further aligned with international human rights standards and awareness on human rights/anti-discrimination issues among the judiciary will be raised through the work of the Judicial Training Centre”, said Ambassador Drobnič.
The Head of the Council of Europe Human Rights Policy and Co-operation Department, Mikhail Lobov, also reminded that the primary goal of the project activities is the implementation of obligation of Montenegro as the member state of Council of Europe that would prospectively lead to a fair, modern and efficient justice in Montenegro based on European convention on human rights and without any discrimination.