[Montenegro] Draft National Strategy for the Exercise of Children's Rights with the Action Plan 2019-2023 presented in Montenegro

On 14 February 2019, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and UNICEF presented a Draft National Strategy for the Exercise of Children's Rights, Action Plan 2019–2023. Along with representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and UNICEF, the presentation was attended by representatives from relevant institutions, including: the Parliament of Montenegro’s Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms, the Institution of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, the Office of the National Coordinator for the Fight against Human Trafficking, the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office, Centre for Children’s Rights of Montenegro, the Council for the Rights of the Child, the working group who prepared the action plan, NGOs, and representatives of the children who participated in the consultative process.

The Strategy addresses three issues: the needs of and problems facing children, the capacity of the state in the field of child rights, and the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Several suggestions were made during the presentation: to reform the Child Rights Council; establish a consultation model with children on the issues that the Council deals with; strengthen the national data collection system on children’s rights and the mechanisms for sharing this information; establish clear procedures for informing, consulting and actively participating in decision-making processes; and prepare a new strategic document for exercising children’s rights. An emphasis was placed on the legislative and strategic frameworks, and the need to improve the implementation of legal and strategic documents in practice, while also providing an equal approach to the rights of vulnerable children.

Additionally, establishing a modern and concise system to monitor the exercise of children’s rights and ensure cross-sectoral coordination was deemed necessary. This would mean monitoring the situation, increasing public awareness of children rights, allocating sufficient human, technical and financial resources for exercising and monitoring children’s rights, providing strategies for shifting from international donor funded sources to local or national funding, and increasing the scope and quality of NGO services in the field of children’s rights.

It was also concluded that the Strategy for exercising children’s rights in Montenegro should be adjusted after its adoption with a special focus placed on children with disabilities and children from minority groups, since this is a key document for all children in Montenegro.

Finally, the participants agreed that the Strategy does not belong to any institution in Montenegro, but belongs to the children.