Montenegro, 27 July 2010 - The Parliament of Montenegro adopted an all-inclusive anti-discrimination law which bans discrimination on the grounds of various characteristics, like sexual orientation and gender identity. The law was adopted with a large majority (67 votes for, 6 votes against and 4 abstained). 

Montenegro is a potential candidate country for joining the European Union and the last in the Western Balkans to adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination law.

The bill was drafted in 2009, after the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) noted "ongoing allegations of brutality and mistreatment by police and lack of prompt and impartial investigations of cases involving disadvantaged ethnic groups, particularly the Roma” (http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/montenegro/report-2009). Also the NGOs’ letter to the president of Montenegro (http://www.hraction.org/?p=274) played an important role: “the […] research undertaken by the Human Rights Action shows that 71% of the citizens of Montenegro believe that homosexuality is an illness, 58% expect state bodies to suppress homosexuality, and 67% think that the Serbian Orthodox Church is rightfully against homosexuality. On the other hand, 89% agree that „everyone should have the right to one’s sexual orientation unless endangering others”, 60% believe that homosexuals are like everyone else, while 39% would stop voting for a political party that would start talking about the rights of homosexuals”.

This is an important step for Montenegro in respecting human rights of all citizens. By passing a parliamentary law public authorities contribute to the promotion of a culture of human rights and to the respect for privacy as an aspect of human dignity. Far from being the solution to discrimination, legislation is both a symbolic and substantial move toward equality and inclusiveness