Distinguished Excellencies,

Assuming that you are familiar with the heinous attack of the member of the Montenegrin Parliament Mr Milan Knežević against the reputation and honour of MP Ms Aleksandra Vuković, I am inviting you to jointly send a strong message that should contribute to the building of a strong social environment in which the rights of women are respected, and to encourage and not discourage the presence of women in politics.

In that respect, it is our duty to inform you of our concern regarding the lack of adequate reaction of the civil sector in Montenegro, especially that part funded by the EU, and with the obligation to protect, promote and improve human rights in Montenegro.

The unprofessional participation by a part of the Montenegrin media in the said event was equally concerning, but not unexpected. By inciting hate speech, a part of the so-called independent media sector took active part in creating a hostile environment towards women in politics, thus breaking the basic rules of journalism. Just as a reminder, people’s freedoms cannot be limitless, neither in journalism, nor in life; they are limited precisely by the rights and freedoms of other people.

Therefore it is necessary to jointly persevere in raising civic and European awareness of all segments of society, and to respond energetically to any attempt to erode moral values of old and humane state of Montenegro, which respects human rights and individual freedoms. At the same time, the MP, as the elected representative of the citizens, has a duty to act as an example with regard to social and intellectual exemplary behaviour, to protect and to promote human rights, and not to violate them in the most inappropriate manner.

In the hope that this is still an isolated incident, we wish to believe that all structures of society, led by the inappropriate behaviour of the elected representative of the people, will in the future find it necessary to at least condemn the attack against the personal integrity of any individual.