Horizontal Facility III - Combating hatred and intolerance in Montenegro

Retour Mapping hate speech in Montenegro highlights need for awareness, education and stronger institutional response

Virginia DI PASQUA

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Mapping hate speech in Montenegro highlights need for awareness, education and stronger institutional response

The report “Mapping Hate Speech in Montenegro” was presented today in Podgorica identifying key challenges and gaps in responding to hatred and protecting its victims, especially those from marginalised groups. Based on multi-year research, it shows that hate speech is increasingly normalised, especially online, and highlights the urgent need for stronger prevention, education, and coordinated institutional action.

Opening the event, President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović stressed that hate speech has moved from the margins into everyday public discourse and warned against accepting it as normal. “Hate speech is not an opinion or criticism – it is a message that someone is worth less or should be erased from public space. We must not accept this ‘new normal’, and our response must be based on prevention, education and responsible public communication,” Milatović said.

Minister of Human and Minority Rights Fatmir Gjeka underlined that hate speech is a deep societal issue that goes beyond legal frameworks and requires a shared response. “Freedom of expression must never be an excuse for undermining human dignity. Our society is measured by how it protects the most vulnerable, and this report will help us develop better policies and a more effective institutional response,” Gjeka stated.

The Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, Siniša Bjeković, drew attention to the scale of hate speech online and the risks of its escalation if left unaddressed. “No conflict starts without words. When hate becomes normalised, we lower the threshold of what is socially acceptable, and that inevitably leads to violence. Institutions must respond decisively and consistently,” Bjeković emphasised.

Minister of Culture and Media Tamara Vujović highlighted the importance of balancing freedom of expression with protection from hate speech, particularly in the media and digital environment. “Hate speech has no place in professional media. Through the Media Strategy 2023–2027 and alignment with the EU Digital Services Act, we are strengthening media literacy, accountability and systemic mechanisms to address online abuse,” Vujović said.

Lejla Dervišagić, Head of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Podgorica, said that the Council of Europe provided the first definition of hate speech as early as 1997 in one of its recommendations, thereby establishing common European standards. “In line with contemporary challenges, this definition was expanded in the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation of 2022. Combating hate speech remains one of the Council of Europe’s priorities, as emphasised in the New Democratic Pact for Europe. One of the key objectives of the Pact is to protect democracy and social cohesion- both of which can be seriously undermined by hate speech if we do not respond in a timely, coordinated, and decisive manner,” Dervišagić noted.

Riccardo Serri, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Montenegro, said that in recent years, hate speech has increasingly been amplified through large digital platforms, which carry a particular responsibility. "The EU has taken decisive steps to address this, notably through the Digital Services Act, which strengthens accountability, transparency, and the protection of fundamental rights online. Our approach is based on a simple rule, what is illegal offline is illegal online, and the EU will apply these rules no matter how big or powerful digital platforms are,” Serri said.

The report was presented by Federico Faloppa, Professor of Language and Discrimination at the University of Reading and Council of Europe expert, together with Nevenka Vuksanović, Director of CEDEM, followed by a discussion with representatives of institutions, independent bodies and international partners.

The report was produced within the action “Combating hatred and intolerance in Montenegro”, implemented under the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye, in partnership with the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM).

Podgorica, Montenegro 10 February 2026

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The action “Combating hatred and intolerance in Montenegro” offers assistance in improving the record of fighting discrimination, hatred and intolerance in Montenegro. It intervenes in line with the latest trends in the field of racism and intolerance in Europe as outlined in the Annual Reports of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), as well.

The technical support is provided as part of the Montenegro’s EU accession process, in line with European standards – notably those from the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and its recommendations (2017) and conclusions (2020) on Montenegro – as well as with the COE Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on combating hate speech (2020) EU Anti-racism Action Plan 2020-2025.

This action is implemented within the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” running from 2023 until 2026.

to increase the awareness of the institutions, of the civil society and of the population in Montenegro about hatred and intolerance and related European standards
to develop a harmonised and effective institutional approach to tackle these issues

institutions of Montenegro
civil society organisations
youth and people leaving in the local communities
the general population

through provision of expertise and capacity building initiatives
through awareness raising possibilities, involving local level partners, youth and the people of Montenegro
by adapting existing tools and methodologies of the Council of Europe and combining them with relevant EU standards
by providing occasions for inter-institutional dialogue on issues of pertinence to equality, to foster co-operation among partners and for enhancing the dialogue between state and non-state stakeholders
it builds on the results achieved under the previous phase of the Horizontal Facility programme and the action on Promotion of diversity and equality in Montenegro and the regional on Promotion of diversity and equality in the Western Balkans

institutions show an overall improved record of reforms to combat discrimination, hatred and racism in line with European standards, better addressing the needs of vulnerable groups and minorities
people in Montenegro become more aware of the negative effects that hate and racism have to the cohesion of the society and are enabled to respond to these challenges in the local context
Montenegrin institutions and civil societies improve their awareness and capacity to react to discrimination and hate motivated incidents and attacks in line with European standards
institutions and other local stakeholders are aware of the dangers posed by hate speech to the society and their effects in Montenegro and take initial steps to respond to hate speech in a systemic manner

The total budget of the actions is 400 000 EUR.

The budget allocated to the overall Horizontal Facility programme amounts to ca. 41 million EUR (85% funded by the European Union, 15% by the Council of Europe).

The “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” is a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe that enables the Western Balkans Beneficiaries and Türkiye to meet their reform agendas in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy and to comply with the European standards, which is also a priority for the EU enlargement process.