Health Minister Radunović hosts CoE Human Rights Commissioner: Montenegro protects health-related rights of its citizens

Podgorica, Montenegro (20 March 2014) – Montenegro's Health Minister Miodrag Radunović hosted Wednesday the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks.

Minister Radunović underlined the monitoring of gender relations over the last two decades indicates a decline in the birth rate and gender imbalance at birth, in terms of a male predominance (109 males per 100 female births).

In order to combat the phenomenon, Montenegro has adopted a significant set of laws in the field of health, several of which defines the state's clear attitude towards sex selection before conception and birth.

"In addition to a sound legal framework that protects basic human rights and prohibits prenatal sex selection, a centralised service for medical genetics and genetic research was established in several private health institutions. Through continuous monitoring and enforced application of the legislation, and the increasing awareness of the seriousness and consequences of gender imbalance at birth, the Health Ministry has been creating an environment for reducing and eliminating the abuse of genetic testing for the purpose of sex selection and sacrifice of healthy posterity," Minister Radunović explained.

The meeting also discussed the health care of the Roma population. Minister Radunović said that the Ministry of Health actively participates in drafting strategic documents concerning the RAE population, in part related to the right to health care. The Roma population in Montenegro is fully integrated into the health care system, he stressed, adding they have all the rights to health care as the local population. In that context, he noted that the Ministry of Health has developed good cooperation with the NGOs dealing with the Roma rights, and their representatives actively take part in drafting all health-care related strategic documents. He cited as an example the collaboration with the NGO HELP, through which four Roma mediators have been trained to take measures targeting the health promotion among the Roma community.

Speaking of the LGBT rights in Montenegro, Mr Radunović said that the Ministry of Health has signed the Memorandum of Understanding with LGBT non-governmental organisation Forum Progress and that the Rules on Gender Confirmation is in its final drafting stage.

CoE’s Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks said that Montenegro has made notableprogress in all of these areas. The two officials voiced belief the fruitful cooperation between Montenegro’s institutions and the Council of Europe is to be continued.