Krivokapić, Mijatović: Montenegro and Council of Europe work closely together to protect human rights and freedoms

During official visit to the Council of Europe, Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić met with Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović.

Prime Minister Krivokapić said that Montenegro, after 30 August last year, is working on building a democratic society, through strengthening institutions and cooperation with all interested parties, because that is the only way to talk about social inclusion. In this context, the Council of Europe standards are a key guideline, given that the adoption of these values is a sure path to progress in European integration.

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović welcomed Prime Minister Krivokapić, emphasising that this was the first meeting with the Montenegrin delegation since she took up the position of Commissioner. She praised Montenegro's achievements in terms of passing important laws, but reminded of the importance of better implementation of legal regulations.

The meeting discussed women's rights and gender equality, with a special emphasis on the Istanbul Convention, which addresses the issue of violence against women.

In this context, the Prime Minister said that there are certain challenges in Montenegro in achieving full implementation of the Convention, and presented the activities undertaken regarding the strengthening of the institutional framework and the improvement of legislation.

In order to strengthen the level of protection against all forms of discrimination, the Government is working to strengthen the existing legal framework, through proposals for amendments to the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, in cooperation with foreign experts. The Government also continues the dialogue with the representatives of minority national councils, in order to raise the level of protection of the rights of minorities in Montenegro, he said.

The Prime Minister reminded that working groups had been formed for Chapter 23 and Chapter 24, as well as that the negotiating structure had been strengthened through the appointment of negotiators for all clusters in the negotiation process.

The officials exchanged views on media freedom and pointed out the importance of protecting the journalistic profession through the improvement of legal solutions and the protection of journalists and editors.

Commissioner Mijatović pointed out that Montenegro has achieved a lot in the field of human rights protection, but she also referred to the unresolved cases of attacks on journalists.

In that context, the Prime Minister reminded that, since the formation of the new Government, there have been four cases of attacks on journalists and that all four cases have been resolved, noting that unresolved cases date back to the period of the previous government. The Prime Minister reiterated the determination of the Government of Montenegro to continue to promote freedom of expression and freedom of the media, because, as he pointed out, they form the basis of any democratic society.

The meeting reiterated the commitment to continued cooperation between Montenegro and the Council of Europe in the field of full protection and affirmation of human rights and freedoms.