The Vice President of the Parliament of Montenegro Mr Suljo Mustafić expressed his pleasure on behalf of the Parliament of Montenegro and the organisers of this event, as well as on my own behalf, and warmly welcomed the participants.

“I am glad that we have gathered today here in ReSPA which signed the contract regulating mutual relations with the country of Montenegro, including the issue of using these facilities in Danilovgrad and for the purposes of regional gathering, according to which ReSPA, as well as other international organisations, has the status of diplomatic mission in Montenegro. I deem as very significant the cooperation of the parliaments of the countries in the region, as well as ombudspersons from these countries, contributing to strengthening of the activities aimed at protecting human rights and freedoms of all citizens living in this area.  I am pleased that the idea of regional gathering of the parliamentary working bodies competent for human rights and the rights of the child had taken hold, as confirmed by the fact that this is the second gathering of this kind in the past several months”, said the Vice President Mustafić.

He reminded: “Montenegro is the signatory of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, thereby being included among the developed countries that took over the obligation of ensuring and protecting the rights of the child. The rights of the child are enshrined in the Constitution of Montenegro, as well a series of laws that guarantee them in certain areas.“

Within its legislative, but also oversight and control activities, through plenary sessions and its working bodies, the Parliament of Montenegro implements numerous activities in the area of promotion and protection of all human rights, and devotes special attention to protection of the rights and interests of the child.

Apart from consideration of the annual Performance Report of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms in the work of the Parliament, the competent working bodies, primarily the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms, are considering numerous other reports on the state of the rights of the child in Montenegro, as well as in certain areas. 

The Committee also organises themed meetings dedicated to children and their rights.  The cooperation with the UNICEF Mission to Montenegro is intensive in order to improve the state in this area. Additionally, in this field, there has been significant cooperation of the Parliament of Montenegro and its working bodies with other state authorities, the institution of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, international organisations, NGOsector, the academic community and the media.

The Vice President Mustafić points out: “On the occasion of marking the International Children's Rights Day, the Parliament of Montenegro has been continuously organising the sittings of the Children’s Parliament where the representatives of the Government answer the questions of children from all Montenegrin municipalities. The goal is to contribute to raising awareness and promoting the model of participation of children in the social processes, or to enable children to participate and make decisions in the issues relating to them. Additionally, as of October 2012, the Parliament has been implementing the programme Democracy Workshops, in which about seven thousand children from numerous schools and all over Montenegro participated, who are informed, in the Parliament, on the work of the Parliament through direct conversation with the MPs.

Today I have a distinct pleasure to open this gathering on the topic “Rights of the Child: Promotion of the Position of a Child Aimed at Protection from All Forms of Exploitation” and present to you the intention of the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms of the Parliament of Montenegro to deepen the cooperation on this topic with all state institutions and especially with the Institution of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, as the umbrella institution in this area.

I deem as important that the Institution of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro has recognised this problem at this stage of the regional Project and that full support for its implementation has been given to it,up to compiling a comprehensive special report in order to promote the position of the child and protection from all types of exploitation. It has been joined by the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms  with active participation in the coordinated activities with the competent resources of the Government, which meanwhile certainly contributed to better protection of the rights of the child, and which we would like, through our presentations as the host, to share with you – our guests. Certainly, by sharing experiences of the results in this area in our region.

Instead of a general narrative, I will touch upon the tangible results in one of the areas that have been subject to research, both in our country and in the region – the problem of begging.

Having in mind that child begging is often linked with trafficking in human beings, I will inform you on certain activities undertaken with regard to combating this phenomenon.

The recommendations of the Protector provided in the Special Report on Begging, concerning the following:

- determining the causes of child begging,

- multidisciplinary approach to the problem,

- amendments to the legal regulations aimed at better protection of the rights of the child,

- strengthening the role of the Centre for Social Services and counselling for parents,

- undertaking the measures to raise awareness of children, citizens and professional public;

And which the Committee has adopted, are a good starting point for resolving the problem of begging. “

He also considers that “it is important to recognise the status of the child in the begging problem, not as an offender but as a victim, because that is how the solution to the problem is identified”.

The Vice President Mustafić also reflected on the most significant implemented activities and achieved results in the field of combating human trafficking, focusing on those aimed at protecting the children from any kind of exploitation.

He noted that Montenegro has significantly enhanced the legislative framework regulating  the criminal offence of human trafficking, while, at the institutional plan, a significant number of educational activities had been undertaken, aimed at strengthening the professional capacities involved in combating the trafficking of people/children, within which the accent was placed on identifying and providing adequate help and protection.”