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Montenegro’s Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and the NGO Queer Montenegro signed a memorandum of cooperation in Podgorica on Thursday, 22 October. According to the ministry, both sides commit to working together to reduce homophobia, biphobia and transphobia and to eliminate all forms of discrimination.
The memorandum is meant to support the implementation of the government’s Strategy for Improving the Quality of Life of LGBTIQ People 2024–2028. Cooperation will cover combating discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes, training for staff in public administration and the judiciary, and raising public awareness of LGBTIQ rights in Montenegro.
Minister Fatmir Đeka said the document rests on the Constitution of Montenegro, national law and international human rights standards.
“The memorandum establishes the foundations, principles and mechanisms of cooperation with the aim of more effective planning, implementation and monitoring of public policies aimed at protecting and advancing the human rights of LGBTIQ people in Montenegro,” the ministry said in a statement.
The most concrete commitments concern the NGO’s role. The ministry has undertaken to provide institutional support for Queer Montenegro’s activities, to include its representatives in working groups and to open channels of communication for resolving systemic problems. Implementation and evaluation of the strategy’s measures are named as the main goals of the partnership.
The signing comes a few weeks after Pride in Podgorica, after which another local group, LGBT Forum Progres, filed 57 reports with the police over threats and calls for lynching directed at participants.
Source: mina.news, rtcg.me. English adaptation: gay-serbia.com.