Delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro composed of MPs Husnija Šabović, member of the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms and Nikola Gegaj, member of the Gender Equality Committee will participate in the Joint Conference "Fundamental rights, non-discrimination and the protection of vulnerable groups, including the LGBT population", which will be organized by the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and held in Tirana on 20 and 21 November 2014. 

The conference will bring together high-level representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, as well as state representatives from the region and non-governmental organizations dealing with human rights and protection from discrimination.

The Conference will be about the role of the EU in the protection of minorities and promoting non-discrimination of minority groups, as well as the role of the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and civil society in the protection of fundamental rights and respect for sexual orientation and gender identity in the Western Balkans and Turkey. It will be spoken about the anti-discrimination legislation of the European Union and respect for minority rights in the European Union and beyond. One of the topics will be the "Preservation of the fundamental rights of citizens, including members of the LGBT population”.   

Main speakers at the conference will be: Ms. Ulrike Lunacek, Vice-President of the European Parliament for the Western Balkans, former rapporteur on homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, a member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Ambassador Gian Ludovico de Martino di Montegiordano, Chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Human Rights (CIDU) of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, as well as Mr. Simon Mordue, Director of European Commission Enlargement policy and strategy.    

One of the panelists at the conference will be Mr. Jovan Kojičić, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Montenegro for human rights and protection from discrimination and Secretary of the Council for Protection against Discrimination in the Government of Montenegro, who will speak about the protection of human rights protection mechanisms and implementation of the policy of prohibition from discrimination in practice, with particular emphasis on members of the LGBT community.

Joint Conference "Fundamental rights, non-discrimination and the protection of vulnerable groups, including the LGBT population" will be an excellent opportunity for members of the Delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro to exchange experiences in the field of protection of fundamental human rights and protection from discrimination against vulnerable groups with representatives of the EU institutions and colleagues from the region.