As part of the efforts to reinforce the fight against discrimination in Montenegro and raise awareness on international and European standards in this regard, but also on the forms of redress at the national level, a new tool for practitioners is now available online. It was presented to partner institutions in December 2020 and is now publicly available.

The manual, first of its kind in Montenegro, provides a comprehensive overview of the key non-discrimination principles, expanding also to: hatred, international and European developments in this field, and the obligations of state parties to relevant human rights instruments and mechanisms. It further outlines the national protection mechanisms; respective roles of the competent institutions in ensuring rule of law, equality and non-discrimination. The last chapters ensure a more detailed overview on non-discrimination grounds and relevant case-law, including that of the European Court of Human Rights. Presented case studies and examples of good practices complete the overview.

The tool is open source, and aims at reaching out civil servants; civil society representatives; academia and students; media; other parties interested to learn more on combating discrimination in Montenegro. It was prepared as a joint effort of the European Union and Council of Europe action on “Promotion of diversity and equality in Montenegro”, in co-operation with the Ministry of Justice, Human and Minority Rights and the Ombudsperson. Related capacity building activities have already started for central and local level civil servants, in co-operation with the Human Resource Management Authority of Montenegro, and will continue throughout 2021. Printed copies can be requested to the Programme Office of the Council of Europe in Podgorica.

The Manual is produced under the action on “Promotion of diversity and equality in Montenegro”, that is a part of the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”, implemented by the Anti-Discrimination Department of the Council of Europe.

 Handbook on Anti-discrimination Law English Montenegrin