The second Steering Committee meeting of the action on Promoting diversity and equality in Montenegro took place online on 25 September, with representatives of the Council of Europe, European Union Delegation in Montenegro, beneficiary institutions and civil society organisations.

The Steering Committee discussed the activities undertaken during the first year of implementation, including by touching upon specific adjustments in the plan due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The first batch of grants related to inclusion activities during the pandemic was presented, with initiatives related to combating increase in hate speech and stigmatisation of vulnerable groups. All members agreed on the need to move forward now with implementation of the Law on civil partnerships for LGBTI persons, adopted in June this year. Adoption of this Law is an important milestone for the action and Montenegro but being the first law that regulates same-sex partnerships in the Western Balkans it is equally important for the region as such.

One of the key achievements during the last period was the analysis taking stock on the reforms of the anti-discrimination framework, with specific focus on combating hate speech and crime. The analysis provides institutions with clear benchmarks and recommendations for the way ahead. A separate session of the meeting was dedicated to that, whereby representatives from law enforcement, Judiciary/Prosecution and Ministry of Justice joined the discussion, together with colleagues from the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, as well as from Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) from the EU side. Council of Europe experts presented the main findings, and it was agreed to continue working on bias indicators on hate/hatred motivated crimes and uniformed data collection mechanisms, along the lines of 2020 ECRI country conclusion. In parallel, activities will continue with civil society organisations to raise awareness on hate crime for those working with vulnerable groups, including by means of public discussions. Up to the new Government to take responsibility over the continuation of the criminal reform in the field of discrimination, to be completed.

The action on Promoting diversity and equality in Montenegro is a part of the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”, implemented by the Council of Europe.