Contributed by: Irena Milatovic and Vanja Mikulic, Montenegro National VAW Monitors

The Gender Equality Office of the Government of Montenegro and UNDP Office in Montenegro organized the Regional Conference, “CEDAW Reporting” from 24-26 September 2007 in Milocer, Montenegro.

Montenegro has become a member of the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as of 23 October 2006, and this regional conference was organised to aim at ensuring the understanding of basic concepts of gender equality, international standards and how they are connected to the work of the government. It also sought to provide regional and expert knowledge and skills related to the development of the Initial Report according to CEDAW, in order to integrate gender equality in all governmental strategies/policies/programs and plans for its implementation.

The conference was attended by state delegations of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Hercegovina, who presented their experiences in the development of the Initial Report, by representatives of state administration bodies of Montenegro. Representatives of women NGOs in Montenegro and representatives of Kosovo and Albania attended the conference as observers. A special contribution to the work of the conference was given by Ms. Dubravka Simonovic, chairwoman of the CEDAW Committee and Ms. Violeta Neubauer, member of the CEDAW Committee, who provided very practical and useful guidelines on how to develop this first Montenegro Report on CEDAW in the most qualitative way.

The Conference participants adopted the following Conclusions:

• The Conference made the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) visible for civil servants and the public as well, and in this way, created the basis for a more serious acceptance of obligations arising from international conventions;

• Reporting before the CEDAW Committee is the first opportunity for Montenegro to show its readiness for the implementation of obligations in the human rights field before UN bodies;

• The preparation process and submission of the report is an important moment for raising the awareness of the state administration and general public on the status of gender equality in Montenegro, and a great opportunity for a realistic assessment of the status of legislation related to gender equality and mechanisms in this area;

• Preparation process and presentation of national reports should be organised as a permanent and periodical process, not as a one-shot process;

• Experiences in the preparation of the report, as well as acting according to the Committee Recommendations presented at the regional conference provided useful knowledge and guidelines that should be successfully used in the preparation of the first report of Montenegro. That especially relates to the process of the report preparation, planning of preparation activities, their dynamics and course of events, readiness for the cooperation with all ministries and other relevant state institutions (courts, statistics), university, media and all stakeholders from civil society;

• The Conference recommends the Government to adopt the report before sending it to the CEDAW Committee;

• The Conference also stressed the significance of the Shadow Report drafted by the civil sector and recommended frank cooperation, but complete independence and freedom of both actors. The conference recommends that the Government present the report to the NGOs before sending it to the CEDAW Committee;

• The reporting process and, in particular, the discussion in New York and further implementation of the Committee Recommendations should be used as the basis for permanent improvement of all assured women’s human rights by the CEDAW;

• The Gender Equality Office of the Government of Montenegro and UNDP Office in Montenegro consider the presence of Montenegrin NGOs and their special interest for this conference a step further in achievement of real partnership.

Source: Gender Equality Office of the Government of Montenegro