President of the Parliament of Montenegro Mr Ivan Brajović today will open thematic meeting of the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms ″Equality before the law and prohibition of discrimination for the respect of diversity″ on the Proposal for the Law on Lifelong Partnership of Same Sex Partners. The meeting will start at 14:00, in the Blue Room of the Parliament of Montenegro.
Starting from the findings of the EC’s Montenegro 2019 Report,
″On the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons, cooperation between civil society, the government and police remains constructive. The Law on civil partnership is currently awaiting adoption in Parliament. The national LGBTI strategy (2013-2018) expired, but a significant portion of the planned activities were not completed. A new national LGBTI strategy is under preparation; its implementation will require adequate budgetary allocations, ownership and genuine and constructive consultations with CSOs. In November 2018, the national pride parade took place in Podgorica without incidents and in an overall peaceful atmosphere. Despite existing legislation providing for protection on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, the number of reported cases of hate crime and hate speech towards LGBTI persons is increasing and prosecution of these crimes remain insufficient. Overall, acceptance of sexual diversity is advancing at a slow pace. Continued and proactive efforts are necessary to ensure full and effective implementation of the existing legal and policy framework.″
The Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms of the Parliament of Montenegro, in partnership with the Council of Europe's No Hate Speech and Cooperation Unit and the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro, in accordance with Article 62 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Montenegro, organises the thematic meeting on the ″Equality before the law and prohibition of discrimination for the respect of diversity″, /on the Proposal for the Law on Lifelong Partnership of Same Sex Partners/.
The objective of the thematic meeting is to open a debate on the importance of ensuring justice and promoting anti-discrimination and protecting the rights of LGBTI persons, as well as sharing experiences and lessons learned.
This activity is part of the Action on promotion of diversity and equality in Montenegro and takes place within the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey - Phase II, co-financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
