DPM Pažin: Respect for human rights is condition and driver of Montenegro's overall development

Podgorica, Montenegro (2 April 2019) – Respect for human rights and freedoms was and remains the basic condition and the driver of democratic, social and economic development of Montenegro, Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin said at a meeting with OSCE Secretary-General Thomas Greminger.

The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that during 2019 Montenegro will remain focused primarily on fulfilling obligations arising from the EU accession process. "Our ambition is to open the remaining negotiating chapter on competitiveness as soon as possible, but also to finally get the opportunity to continue the process of temporary closure of negotiations in certain chapters," he stressed.

DPM Pažin emphasizes that Montenegro will have to adopt and implement key reform laws in the field of media, electoral and anti-discrimination legislation. In this context, he expressed the full readiness of the ruling majority to reach the best legal solutions through dialogue with opposition representatives in democratic institutions and provide even stronger protection of the rights and freedoms of Montenegrin citizens.

Secretary-General Greminger said that the OSCE fully supports the efforts to hold political dialogue on key reform processes in the Parliament of Montenegro. He assessed that Montenegro is a strong and committed partner of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and expressed organisation's readiness to continue to work with Montenegrin institutions in key areas such as the rule of law, media reform, cyber security and the electoral legislation reform.

Speaking about the reform of the electoral legislation, the Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the Government strongly advocates the acceptance of all recommendations of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), adding that all recommendations that needed a simple majority in the Parliament were already accepted. Furthermore, he noted that there is full readiness of the parliamentary majority to accept the remaining recommendations that require a qualified majority in the Parliament of Montenegro through the open dialogue with the opposition.

Deputy Prime Minister Pažin pointed out that free, independent and pluralistic media represent a necessary precondition for the development of every democratic society, and that states have the primary responsibility to ensure respect for and protection of the freedom of speech and freedom of the media. He thanked the OSCE for its expert support during the drafting of media laws, assessing that those are regulations that are of great importance for further democratic development and the overall progress of Montenegrin society.

In this context, he expressed the expectation that all political actors will recognise their responsibility and give full contribution that these and other important legal solutions, which directly affect the exercise of the rights and freedoms of Montenegrin citizens, will be discussed in detail and adopted in the Parliament.