Background
In June, Montenegro became the first of the current EU accession countries to receive the Interim Benchmark Assessment Report. This was a major milestone in the accession process, confirming that Montenegro had fulfilled the EU’s legal requirements on judicial and fundamental rights and on justice, freedom and security.
Right to a healthy environment
In May, in response to environmental and health concerns raised by the local community, the government terminated a contract with a foreign company. The company had failed to address these concerns in relation to its Brskovo zinc mining project in the municipality of Mojkovac.
Right to truth, justice and reparation
In January, parliament appointed a new Supreme State Prosecutor, a post which had been vacant since 2021. There were further delays in the trial of a former Bosnian Serb Army soldier, indicted for rape and murder in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in 1992. In June, a police officer in the city of Niksic was charged with crimes against humanity he allegedly committed as a member of the Bosnian Serb police in Hadzici in BiH in 1992.
In February, Montenegro signed the 2023 Ljubljana-The Hague Convention on International Cooperation in the Investigation and Prosecution of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes and other International Crimes.
Women’s and girls’ rights
In June, the CEDAW Committee noted that patriarchal attitudes and related gender roles and stereotypes remained deeply rooted in Montenegrin society. The Committee highlighted that women in rural areas continued to carry a disproportionate burden of unpaid work, often with limited access to running water, electricity and childcare.
The murder of a woman by her ex-husband highlighted the lack of protection for women at risk and prompted outrage, as she had repeatedly pleaded for help from the police. In another case, the High Court in the capital city, Podgorica, sentenced a man to the maximum sentence of 40 years in prison for the 2021 murder of his former partner. Women’s rights campaigners continued to urge the government to amend the Criminal Code and introduce femicide as a distinct crime, and to ensure greater protection against gender-based violence.
Irresponsible arms transfers
In October, the Palestinian Solidarity Movement called on the government to prevent the docking of MV Kathrin, a cargo vessel believed to be carrying explosives destined for Israel, as there was a clear risk that such cargo could contribute to the commission of war crimes against Palestinian civilians.1
Unlawful targeted surveillance
The Ministry of Interior purchased facial recognition technology to enhance its surveillance cameras in the cities of Podgorica, Bar and Budva without legal basis in national law. In February, the Personal Data Protection Agency suspended the use of the cameras.
