Coordination at national level

AuthorKostic-Mandic, Maja
Pages88-89
88
9 COORDINATION AT NATIONAL LEVEL
In Montenegro there is a widespread network of institutional forms of prot ection against
discrimination, t he basis of which is formed by the institution of the Protector of Human
Rights and Freedoms and the judicial authorities, misdemeanour courts and inspection
services. In addition, a nu mber of other institutions deal with the protection of human
rights and freedoms with the aim of eliminating discrimination from society (such as the
Committee for Human Ri ghts and Freedoms of the Parliament of Montenegro, the C ouncil
for Civil Monitoring of the Police and regulatory agencies).
The Protector was established as an i nstitutional mechanism for protection against
discrimination and acts and undertakes measures for protection agai nst discrimination, in
accordance with Law on the Protector of Human Rights and F reedoms and a special Law
regulating the prohibition of discrimination.
The Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination provides the Protector of Human Rights and
Freedoms with powers consistent with the requirements of Directive 2000/43/EC. Th ese
powers include provision of assistance to victims, conducting surveys on discrimination
and publishing reports and making recommendations for the elim ination of discrimination
(Articles 20 and 22).
In accordance with Article 21 of the Law, the Protector is competent to: 1) act on
complaints relating to discriminatory treatment; 2) provide complainants who believe
they hav e been discriminated against with information about their rights and du ties, as
well as about the possibilities of court and other protection; 3) conduct conciliation
proceedings; 4) initiate proceedings for protection against discrimination in court or
appear in proceedings as an intervener; 5) warn the public about instances of severe
forms of di scrimination; 6) keep separate records of complain ts submitted about
discrimination; 7) collect and analyse data on cases of discrimination; 8) undertake
activities for promotion of equality; 9) submit to the Parliament of Montenegro, in a
separate section within the annual report, a report on the activities conducted regarding
protection from discrimination and promotion of equal ity, and perform other tasks related
to protection from discrimination.
In the executive system, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights has a key role in
promoting and protecting human rights. The Mini stry performs administrative tasks as
follows: protection of human rights and freedoms, if such protection is not within the
competence of othe r ministries; improvement and promotion of human rights and
freedoms and protecti on against discrimination; monitoring the implementation of anti -
discrimination legislation; an d education and promotion of anti-discrimination behaviour
and practices. In addition, the Ministry monitors the realisation and protection of the
rights of members of minority nations and oth er minority national communities in
relation to their national, ethnic, cultu ral, linguistic and religious identity; monitors
progress on gender equality and the protection of th e rights of religious communities in
Montenegro; monitors the i mprovement of th e status of Roma and their integrati on into
society; and performs other tasks within its competence. In this context, two
independent departments have been estab lished within the Ministry: the Department for
Gender Equality and the Department for the Improvement and Protection of th e Rights of
the Roma and Egyptian Communities.
The Committee for Human Rights and Freedoms of the Parliament of Montenegro, in
accordance with its responsibilities, r eviews draft laws, other regulations and general acts
and other i ssues relating to: human and civil rights and freedoms , with special emphasis
on min ority rights; and the application of ratified international acts which are related to
the protection and promotion of the right to equality. It monitors the execution of
documents, measures and activities for enhancing equality on national, ethnic, gender
and other grounds.

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