Third Ministerial IDAHO Forum 2015 ended late this afternoon in Budva, Montenegro

Budva, Montenegro (11 May 2015) -- Third Ministerial IDAHO Forum 2015 entitled "Ending hate crime and violence" and sponsored by the Government of Montenegro ended late this afternoon in Budva.

The forum, organised on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, brought together more than 230 representatives from Montenegro and abroad, including: Serbian Minister without Portfolio Jadranka Joksimović, Minister of Public Administration of Croatia Arsen Bauk, Finland’s Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson, Minister of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands Jet Bussemaker, Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties of Malta Helena Dalli and Minister of Culture and Democracy of Sweden Alice Bah Kuhnke.

IDAHO Forum 2015 was attended by high-level delegations from the following countries: South Africa, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia, Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg, as well as from international organisations such as the European Union, Council of Europe and OSCE.

At the IDAHO 2015 opening ceremony, key speeches were delivered by: Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković, Vice President of the European Parliament Ulrike Lunacek, EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Gender Equality Vĕra Jourová, Director General of the CoE Directorate General of Democracy Snežana Samardžić-Marković, Member of the European Parliament Terry Reintke and Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development of South Africa John Jeffery.

At the first plenary session, participants were addressed by: Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro Igor Lukšić, Minister of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands Jet Bussemaker, Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties of Malta Helena Dalli, Minister for Culture and Democracy of Sweden Alice Bah Kuhne and Minister of Public Administration of Croatia Arsen Bauk.

Third IDAHO Informal Ministerial Meeting, chaired by Montenegro’s Justice Minister Zoran Pažin, also took place in Budva today. The meeting was attended by ministers, state secretaries and deputy ministers of the participating countries, as well as representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of Europe. All participants of the meeting praised the high quality programme and the Montenegro government’s successful organisation of the 3th Ministerial IDAHO Forum.

Belgium’s Secretary of State for Poverty Reduction, Equal Opportunities, People With Disabilities, Combating Fraud and Scientific Policy Elke Sleurs announced Belgium’s candidacy for the organisation of the 5th IDAHO Forum in 2017.

Following the meeting, ministers and deputy ministers from Montenegro and the region signed the Joint Statement.

Ten different events and discussions, that brought together prominent international experts and representatives of the academic community, members of NGOs and other international organisations dealing with human rights of LGBT people, took place in Budva today.

At the closing session of this year’s IDAHO Forum, the participants were addressed by: Minister of Justice of Montenegro Zoran Pažin, Serbian Minister without Portfolio Jadranka Joksimović, Finland’s Justice Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson and Italian Undersecretary of State for Constitutional Reform Ivan Scalfarotto. On behalf of the host country, Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković made the closing remarks.

Fourteenth Roundtable of the European Governmental LGBT Focal Points Network will continue its work tomorrow, as well as the panel which will be coordinated and chaired by the Council of Europe and EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). IDAHO Forum 2015 also supported the event entitled “Human rights of LGBTIQ persons in Montenegro: Current practice and biggest challenges”, which will be organised by NGOs on Tuesday, starting at 17.00.

The 2016 IDAHO Forum entitled "Building bridges and communities" will take place in Denmark on 10-12 May.

Photo and video material from the IDAHO 2015 can be downloaded at: http://www.gov.me/en/IDAHO-Montenegro-2015/press_room/