Centre for Civic Education (CCE) calls on the Minister of Social Welfare, Family and Demography, Damir Gutić, and the Government of Montenegro to withdraw the flawed proposal for amendments to the Law on Veterans’ and Disability Protection and to finally enable a public discussion on this document. The absence of such dialogue has resulted in provisions containing numerous serious shortcomings, undermining the purpose of the amendments, which should have introduced a new approach to addressing these issues instead of perpetuating dysfunctional models. As a result, the families of victims remain without adequate and necessary social protection.
CCE reminds that on 28 December 2024, during a remote session, the Government adopted the draft law and submitted it to Parliament for further procedure. This was done without a prior public discussion, nor did the Minister provide the rationale for skipping it, as required by the Rules of Procedure. The exclusion of the interested public and the problematic proposed solutions are clear grounds for this law to be withdrawn, and for arguments from civil society and the families of victims to be carefully considered in a revised procedure. This legal text must realistically reflect societal needs and demonstrate a responsible approach to the victims of the 1990s conflicts, with the responsible ministry obliged to show openness to suggestions during the drafting process.
Although the proposed law recognizes a broader group of civilian victims of the 1990s wars and their families, it unfairly excludes victims who did not hold Montenegrin republican citizenship at the time of their suffering. This criterion should not influence the eligibility for the status of a civilian war victim, especially considering the mobility of the population during that period, largely caused by the war itself, as well as the fact that some families of the victims have remained closely tied to Montenegro.
The CCE also highlights a serious issue: the recognition of civilian victim status is merely formal and does not grant material rights to all family members in the future, but only to parents and spouses of civilian victims. Namely, this excludes siblings and children who, due to the passage of approximately 30 years since the victims’ deaths or disappearances, have largely aged out of eligibility for these rights, which are stipulated to apply until the age of 26 or 27. If such a solution had been adopted decades ago, during or immediately after the wartime events, it might have been reasonable. However, at present, it fails to provide satisfaction for the majority of family members of 1990s victims. Furthermore, the new proposal excludes the possibility of one-time compensation payments as material satisfaction, leaving this category without any material rights whatsoever.
Broadly speaking, the law seems to address victims of potential future conflicts rather than focusing on the victims of the 1990s wars, who should have been the primary focus of this legislative solution.
It should also be noted that the CCE, alongside other NGOs, victims’ families, and the current Minister Gutić, protested against a similar proposal for amendments to this law at the end of 2023. That version, also discriminatory, was put forward by some members of the parliamentary majority at the time and was subsequently withdrawn from the procedure.
Damir Suljević, Human Rights Programme Coordinator