Members of the Council for protection from discrimination temporarily frozen their membership

Yesterday, members of the Council for Protection against Discrimination from the non-governmental organizations Milan Šaranović, Biljana Alković, Daliborka Uljarević and Zdravko Cimbaljević froze their membership in that institution until the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, arranges a meeting with representatives of persons with disabilities organizations, who have been requesting the same for some time already.

Such a decision was made in order to emphasize that requirement of organizations of persons with disabilities, namely, persons with disabilities themselves, need to be perceived more seriously, and solidarity support provided to their efforts for improving the position of persons with disabilities in Montenegro.

Member of the Council for Protection against Discrimination, as a representative of human rights organizations, Milan Šaranović, a person with a disability himself, has at yesterday’s meeting, which was thematically designated for political discrimination, initiated a discussion on this issue and announced freezing of his work. He invited his colleagues from trade unions and NGOs to solidarize with him in this act, thus helping to point out that problems of persons with disabilities will not disappear if they are being ignored. All NGO representatives stood in solidarity with him by freezing their membership, while a representative of the Trade Union did not do the same.

The reason for dissatisfaction of persons with disabilities organizations, namely, the entire movement of persons with disabilities, stands in the fact that the Government of Montenegro has for the second time, and without consultation with these organizations, abolished the Council for the care of persons with disabilities. Otherwise, this Council was the only body that have, on high-level, dealt with consideration of the situation and initiation of an improvement of situation of persons with disabilities in Montenegro.

As a reminder, the Government of Montenegro has, on 18th April, made a decision to rationalize the number of working bodies. By this decision, among others, the Council for care of people with disabilities has been abolished. Organizations of persons with disabilities have expressed dissatisfaction and protest, and requested a conversation with the Prime Minister through an open letter. In the meantime, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare has announced a public call for proposals of candidates acting on behalf of non-governmental organizations of persons with disabilities in the previously named Council, but, as an advisory body to the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare. Organizations of persons with disabilities have refused to delegate members for that and such Council. Afterwards, once more an invitation to Prime Minister Milo Đukanović has been sent. However, organizations of persons with disabilities were denied an adequate response from the Prime Minister and his cabinet, but also a response from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.

On this session, there has been provided an answer that the Prime Minister of Montenegro will arrange a conversation with representatives of persons with disabilities organizations, as soon as he receives the requirements, namely, as soon as the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare forwards the case to him.

Members of the Council:

Milan Šaranović
Daliborka Uljarević
Zdravko Cimbavljević