Centre for Civic Education (CCE) has submitted an initiative to the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, Siniša Bjeković, requesting preventive action and a recommendation to the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts (CANU) aimed at improving gender equality and preventing discrimination based on sex in the procedures of nomination, election, appointment, and functioning of CANU bodies.
CCE has previously warned that the process of electing full, corresponding, and foreign members of CANU is marked by a lack of transparency and elements of discrimination. In the most recent election cycle, candidates’ references were not discussed at department sessions. It is particularly concerning that, in some departments, women with undeniably strong credentials did not receive support, although multiple candidates could have been proposed, while their male colleagues with more modest international references remained the sole nominees.
CCE recalls that gender equality is a constitutional value and a prerequisite for democratic development. The Constitution of Montenegro obliges the state to guarantee equality between women and men, develop equal opportunity policies, and prohibit discrimination. CANU, as an institution of special public importance, must consistently reflect these constitutional values through its internal acts and practice, and serve as an example of respect for democratic standards.
CCE proposes that the Protector, within his preventive mandate, issue recommendations to CANU to improve its internal regulations and practice, in order to establish clear, binding, and applicable guidelines for promoting gender equality, equal opportunities, and the prevention of discrimination in all CANU procedures.
Available data indicate a pronounced gender imbalance in CANU’s composition. Out of a total of 65 full, corresponding, and foreign members, only five are women. Among 34 full members, 32 are men and two are women; among four corresponding members, three are men and one is a woman. A similar pattern exists among foreign members, with 25 men and two women. This negative trend was further reinforced in the most recent election cycle at the 153rd Electoral Session of the CANU Assembly, held on 23 December 2025, when five full members (all men), one corresponding member (a man), and three foreign members were elected, among whom there was only one woman.
CCE also notes that, according to publicly available information, many distinguished female artists and scientists who have shaped Montenegro’s scientific and artistic scene have not been CANU members, reinforcing the perception of structural closedness and discouraging messages toward them. An illustrative example is Svetlana Kana Radević, one of the most prominent Montenegrin and regional architects, who was never elected to CANU.
Without questioning CANU’s autonomy, CCE stresses that it is essential for the Academy to undertake concrete measures in future election cycles to achieve gender equality and more strongly affirm the contributions of women in science and the arts to dispel doubts about the impartiality of procedures and strengthen public trust.
CCE expects the Ombudsman to respond to this initiative actively and in a timely manner, and that his recommendations become part of a roadmap toward substantive, not merely formal, changes in advancing gender equality and preventing all forms of discrimination within CANU.
Sara Čabarkapa, Active Citizenship Programme Coordinator