Vijesti ROMI.HR

In 2017, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) issued its report on Montenegro, as part of a series of monitoring cycles designed to analyse the country’s position regarding racism and intolerance, as well as proposing potential solutions. These country reports focus on four main areas: 1) Legislative issues, 2) Hate speech, 3) Violence and 4) Integration policies. From the recommendations made in these reports, two are chosen and given special priority, and a follow-up is presented no later than two years later to see if the recommendations have been implemented.

One of the recommendations made by ECRI to Montenegro has to do with data collection. One key issue is that the specific reason behind a hate crime is rarely investigated in depth. That means that identifying the specific motives for a crime (such as racism or homophobia) can be quite difficult.

Montenegrin law requires state institutions to record cases of discrimination. However, instructions on how to record these cases or how to collect the related data change from place to place. In this context, a working group was created with the support of the Ombudsman’s Office and the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, to make sure there is a clear framework of data collection for hate crimes. Unfortunately, this framework is still not developed in the country, and ECRI concluded that Montenegro has not implemented its recommendation. Further action in this field is urgently needed to fight discrimination and violence against minorities effectively.

ECRI also encouraged Montenegro to pay more attention to the situation of Roma in education. Given low attendance rates and high risk of school leaving among Roma children, ECRI recommended that the government hires more Mediators/Assistants, both at pre-school and primary school level.

Montenegro has taken this recommendation seriously. It has created a professional qualification called ‘Associate in the social inclusion for Roma and Egyptians in the field of education’, which gives assistants specific skills to support Roma children in school. This qualification is recognized at national level, and the authorities have launched a motivation programme and trained 30 people already.

The education budget now also includes funding for 20 mediators/assistants to focus on social inclusion for Roma in schools. Given these positive steps, ECRI finds this recommendation to be implemented. Despite ECRI's encouraging remarks, much work is still required in Montenegro to address education for Roma, in a country where only 3% of Roma complete high school. A more active commitment is needed from authorities to ensure full integration of Roma in education becomes a reality in Montenegro.