INPUTS FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO The activities led by the Government of Montenegro in the past have been recognised as an example of good practices to be followed in the region. Hereby you may find all relevant information in chronological order that address the activities, law measures, best practices in terms of law enforcement and LGBT Strategy measures aimed to fight the violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity. The inputs are divided into two parts. First part consists of measures and activities including projects and relative publications and the second one is about legislation. I PART: Measures and activities - In September 2011, the Government of Montenegro was the first state in the Western Balkans to host an International Conference on LGBT rights and freedoms. Further information about the Conference “Toward Europe, Toward Equality” are available at: http://www.gov.me/en/homepage/Conference_Toward_Europe_Toward_Equality - Montenegro was the first beneficiary state in the Council of Europe’s project “Combating discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity”, which began with the realization in September 2011 and lasted until the end of 2013. The project aimed to support countries involved in the preparation of measures and the implementation of actions in the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, in order to implement the Recommendation CM / Rec ( 2010 )5. A number of conferences and training were held that had the purpose to heighten visibility and improve the quality of life for LGBT persons. Those included the governmental conferences, meetings with the representatives of the Council of Europe along with the participation of civil society, panel discussion on multiple discrimination supported by William Institute, UCLA School of Law and the Conference on the LGBT rights where representatives of 11 governments of the region took part. Further information about the Conference available at: http://www.gov.me/en/Together_against_Discrimination - Since December 2012 Montenegrin Government initiated a project of regional significance in cooperation with the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) on the issue of anti-discrimination. As a result of “Implementing European human rights standards in Montenegro and other regional countries” project, a publication entitled “Practical introduction to European anti-discrimination standards” has been drafted. Both the publication and following Conference focused on the activities of governmental, educational institutions and non- governmental organizations dealing with protection from discrimination. This book is also important as a material for education in the area of anti-discrimination. More at links: http://www.gov.me/naslovna/Savjetodavna_tijela/Savjet_za_zastitu_od_diskriminacije/134249/Prak ticni-uvod-u-evropske-standarde-protiv-diskriminacije.html http://www.skupstina.me/index.php/en/ostale-aktuelnosti/item/1283-konferencija-implementacija- evropskih-standarda-protiv-diskriminacije/1283-konferencija-implementacija-evropskih-standarda- protiv-diskriminacije - Program of the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights on the implementation of the Anti- Discrimination Law included the education plan and media promotion plan of anti-discriminatory behaviour which, among other things, includes LGBT group, as a part of Anti-discrimination campaign. Ministry for Human and Minority Rights organizes quarterly education seminars and workshops in cooperation with OESC aimed at training judges and other public servants to deal with discrimination and crimes based on, among others, sexual orientation and gender identity. - The Government established the Anti-Discrimination Council in July, 2012. The Council was chaired by Prime Minister of Montenegro and nowadays by Deputy Prime Minister and it comprises five line ministers and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Human Rights and Protection against discrimination in the rule of Secretary. The NGOs are also involved in the work of the Council. The Council stresses the vital role that the Governmental institutions have taken to combat all forms discrimination and affirmation of anti-discrimination policies in Montenegro. By November 2014 The Council held a total of eight sessions with LGBT issues specifically addressed in third, sixth, seventh and eight session. - Anti-Discrimination Council of Montenegro unanimously supported on 29 April 2013 the draft Strategy for Improving Quality of Life of LGBT Persons for the period from 2013-2018. The key massage of the Government’s policy in this area: “Nobody should live in fear or be invisible.” On 9 May Strategy for Improving Quality of Life of LGBT Persons 2013-2018 has been adopted at the session of the Government of Montenegro. The Strategy for the Improvement of the Quality of Life of LGBT Persons 2013-2018 was presented on 26 August. the strategy was discussed by: Jovan Kojičić, Prime Minister’s Adviser for human rights and protection against discrimination, H.E. Catherine Knight-Sands, UK Ambassador to Montenegro, H.E. Laurent Stokvis, Kingdom of the Netherlands Ambassador to Montenegro, Aleksandar Zeković, civil society representative and member of the working group for drafting the Strategy. It represents a systemic Governmental response in the fight against all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The strategy promotes European policies and it clearly provides guidelines for improving the status, safety and rights of LGBT people. After various consultations with the LGBT community, local LGBT groups and non-governmental organizations, the best way for improving the situation of LGBT community was elected. More information about the presentation available at: http://www.gov.me/vijesti/130455/Odrzana-prezentacija-Strategije- unapredenja-kvaliteta-zivota-LGBT-osoba-za-period-2013-2018-godin - The Government and respective ministries are continuously working on the training of judges, prosecutors, police officers, human rights defenders and civil servants, including wide support and dialogue with civil society in order to improve the Law Enforcement and Protection from discrimination of LGBT persons. In this regard, in 2013 the Police project was realized. The Government in partnership with LGBT Forum Progress and with the support of the Dutch Government implemented a project on strengthening the capacity of the Montenegrin police to work with the LGBT community.. The project relevant details: Police officials were given knowledges, experiences and good practices by the police instructors and officers from Canada. This project provided LGBT awareness training and education for police officers to help them recognize and respond to crimes motivated by a victim’s perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. It assisted in correcting the widely acknowledged underreporting of violence and discrimination motivated by sexual orientation or gender identity. ECHRT (EGALE Canada) commends the efforts of the government, police services and NGOs for recognizing the need for and organizing this event and acknowledging the need for creating a more equitable society in Montenegro through the creation of a national strategy to combat homophobia along with the creation of the LGBT liaison officer role. Overall, the RHVP training delivered by ECHRT and Toronto Police Services in Montenegro was a success. The facilitation team was privileged to do this work and impressed by the organizers’ dedication to the improvement of LGBT human rights in Montenegro, and by their persistence in the difficult work of creating strong partnerships at all levels of government. Within this project and through cooperation between Government of Montenegro, Police Directorate and LGBT Forum Progres, publication “Police, Tolerance and Accepting Identity” has been made and published, with support of Embassy of Kingdom of the Netherlands. Link: http://lgbtprogres.me/publikacije-2/prirucnik_web/ - In Dubrovnik in October 2013, Vice President of the Government of Montenegro and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Igor Lukšić and Vice President of the Government of Montenegro and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs signed the Joint Statement on combating homophobia and transphobiaJ. Link: http://www.gov.me/vijesti/131513/Dubrovnik-Potpredsjednik-Vlade-i-ministar-vanjskih-poslova-i- evropskih-integracija-Igor-Luksic-ucestvovao-na-Croatia-Forumu-2013.html http://www.mvep.hr/files/file/2013/131009-zajednicka.pdf - The Government of Montenegro hosted 11th Meeting of the Informal LGBT Focal Point network’s representatives of European governments which was held on 3-5 October in Kolasin, Montenegro. The meeting was attended by representatives of sixteen member countries and by four observers from the Council of Europe, EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and the European Commission, and a representative of the US Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour. The panel discussion initiated the process of discussion and learning about different civil union models and laws. More at link: http://www.gov.me/en/News/131656/Montenegro-hosts.html - The adoption of the Strategy provided the preparation of annual Action plans that would enable the implementation of measures and achievements of the objectives defined in the Strategy. The Action Plans envisage the implementation of a series of measures related