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6th meeting of the EU-Montenegro Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee

Brussels, 24th of June, 2015

DISABILITY POLICIES AND SITUATION IN PRACTICE

Milan Šaranović, Equista – Centre for Anti-Discrimination, JCC member

1. Policies and legislation

Main document on which the disability policies are based in Montenegro is the Strategy for integration of persons with disabilities in Montenegro, which represents longterm strategic plan of action of all social actors in our country, as a future developed civic society, integrated in the modern civilization courses and wider international community. Strategy is adopted for the period from 2008 to 2016.

Even though its main goal is improvement of the position of persons with disabilities in Montenegro and their inclusion in all areas of society on the equal basis, this strategy has a fairly limited range.

Based on the goals and measures of the Strategy biannual Action plans are adopted. Currently there is the Action plan for 2014 and 2015.

What characterizes implementation of the Strategy is that activities are from year to year transcribed, and deadlines constantly delayed. Reports on the realization of action plans are not methodologically well structured because they instead of the evaluation of the criteria, have only narrative description what has been done in particular area, what often creates illusion that there has been done more than it actually is.

The thing which should additionally direct disability policies is the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD), which Montenegro ratified in 2009, and thus it become the integral part of our legal system. But, decision makers often neglect it.

By the ratification of the UNCRPD Montenegro has joined to the group of countries which clearly announce the intention to actively contribute to the improvement of the position of persons with disabilities. How much Montenegro succeeds to realize her intention it is visible from the situation in practice.

It should be pointed out that by the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention persons with disabilities have got a strong legal instrument in the fight against discrimination. The Protocol, among other things, stipulates that persons with disabilities can directly address the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Montenegrin legal system contains a number of regulations relating to persons with disabilities and their rights, which treat them on uneven way. Analysis of the domestic legal system, has shown that our legislation in some areas does not provide the protection and realization of rights of persons with disabilities in accordance with the standards set by the Convention, such as the equal recognition of persons before the law, adequate standard of living, health and the like.

Besides that Montenegro did not establish the body responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the Convention, which further substantiates the need for a more serious approach to persons with disabilities by decision-makers.

Additionally it is significant that Montenegro has ratified the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its protocols, which allows people with disabilities to protect their rights before the European Court of Human Rights after exhausting all legal remedies in their country.

Institutional framework beside the Parliament, Government and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, which is still considered primarily responsible when it comes to people with disabilities, includes the Conucil for the care of persons with disabilities in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. This body formerly worked at the government level, but in 2012 it lowered to the level of the Ministry, which from the standpoint of representatives of people with disabilities is not an adequate level to ensure finding the right answers for all the problems that people with disabilities face. According to the reviews of its members from civil society, the Council does not often perform an essential role for which it was formed, or to which it has jurisdiction.

It is evident practice that documents dealing with persons with disabilities, are sent to the further procedure, before the Council has gave is opinion, or discussed it, which completely degrades and ridicules its role. The latest example for this is the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities.

2. Situation in practice

At the level of policy and legislation it can be said that there are created conditions to some extent for the establishment of equality of persons with disabilities in Montenegro. However, at the level of implementation of all of these documents it is a different situation.

People with disabilities are encountering numerous problems, such as lack of adequate conditions, inaccessibility and discrimination, which make them socially isolated and powerless to take an active role in their life. Particularly vulnerable are people with intellectual disabilities, especially in the field of equal treatment before the law and legal capacity.

Data from the field, from almost all Montenegrin municipalities, saying that people with disabilities are unable to enter the premises of public institutions, schools, hospitals, social welfare centres, cultural and sports facilities. The situation is additionally worsened by the challenges with the access and obtaining of orthopedic and other aids.

According to the poll conducted for the purposes of the Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro[1], which included 1014 respondents, people with disabilities are perceived as a social group exposed to marginalization at rates more than half of the citizens, or 55.2 percent think that persons with disabilities are socially isolated group whose rights are the least respected. Almost 76% of the citizens believe that people with disabilities have special needs, which in the one hand shows that there is still a lack of understanding of people with disabilities. But encourages that 71.1 percent of respondents consider that people with disabilities should be treated in the same way as other citizens. Every third respondent in the immediate or extended family or environment has a person with a certain kind of disability what indirectly says about the size of the population of persons with disabilities. 46.8 percent of respondents believe that persons with disabilities are daily discriminated against.

Citizens' views represent a good overview of the situation from the standing point of persons with disabilities.

2.1 Education

Montenegro committed to inclusive education. However, the accessibility of facilities of educational institutions is still not ensured. Also, there are no ensured system solutions for financing services of teaching assistants. The current legal norm provides that the services are performed, by the rule on voluntary basis. This is not a systemic solution.

Higher education characterizes good legal basis, since the newly adopted Law on Higher Education, contains norms that allow the enrolment of students with disabilities to studies, applaying the principles of affirmative action, exemption from payment of tuition, assessment of knowledge in a way that is tailored to the student...

2.2 Employment

There is a stimulating framework for employment through wage subsidies of employees with disabilities for employers. Montenegro introduced a quota system of employment, employers who do not employ people with disabilities have to pay a special contribution to the Fund for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities.

Application of the Law on professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities is not producing the expected results.

From the aspect of the employment of people with disabilities in the public administration, we can talk about the low representation of these persons among public service employees.

What characterizes this area, from the very beginning of the application of the Law is the misuse of significant resources allocated to the Fund for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities. During 2014, the fund reached about 8.5 million, but for the measures of vocational rehabilitation and employment, i.e. regularly, it is spent only EUR 465,791.91.

In addition to the subventions law provides the possibility of funding a grant schemes to promote employment of persons with disabilities. The first call for funding was issued only recently, what is a result of significant delays in the adoption of secondary legislation, even though the law was passed back in 2008. By laying down rigorous criteria and procedures, financing of less developed organizations is limited. Namely, it is fully implemented awarding grants system of the EU Delegation to Montenegro, which means that a certain amount of project budget organization must provide itself.

Amendments to the Law on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities are being currently in preparation. There was established a working group, which includes only one representative of organizations of persons with disabilities which significantly narrows the impact that people with disabilities can have on the process. According to information passed by the Government to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare on the occasion of the upcoming changes of this law, the Ministry has to find a way to provide funds to finance teaching assistants from the Fund which is not in accordance with what is its essence and purpose. Instead it is necessary to systematically solve this issue by amending the Law regarding that area.

2.3 Accessibility

Widespread inaccessibility of public buildings is causing problems in all areas of life and work, especially in education, health and social protection.

Law on Spatial Planning and Construction contains standards relating to accessibility. Rules on detailed terms and method of adjustment of buildings in public use for persons with reduced mobility prescribes very high standards. However, the application of this law and rules is limited, especially if we consider that in 2008 the law, prescribed a period of five years to adapt public building to the people with reduced mobility and persons with disabilities. Until the expiry of the deadline in August 2013, no single one building has been made accessible.

In order to somehow improve the situation in this area back in 2010 Ministry of spatial planing initiated writing an action plan for adapting public buildings for access, movement and use of persons with reduced mobility. The Action Plan went a long process from production to final adoption in 2013. This plan includes adjusting of 13 buildings on the territory of Montenegro. Its application is limited to complicated procurement procedures (tenders), with the result that certain funds (around 325,000 eur) intended for its implementation was returned back into the budget, because of the treasury management system in Montenegro.

In the meantime, none of the planned buildings is made accessible. For 2015 there is allocated 450,000 eur for implementation of this plan.

Perpetrators of violations of legal norms relating to the accessibility of facilities are not penalized.

Means of public transport are, except air and partially railway traffic inaccessible.

Accessibility of information is not ensured. This is a very big problem for people with impaired vision or hearing. Some progress has been made by the amendments to the Consumer Protection Act, to ensure that on the products there must be emphasized their name and its ingredients in Braille.

2.4 Health

In the health area, because of physical inaccessibility and inaccessibility of information, complicated procedures, lack of support services, non educated and non sensible medical staff, persons with disabilities have huge difficulties to obtain and realize their human rights. Persons with disabilities are not able to be hospitalized in many hospitals since they are inaccessible. Persons with hearing impairments are not able to communicate with health workers since there are no sign language interpreters. At the beginning of this year, a disability activist was subjected to discrimination in Clinical Centre of Montenegro, who was hospitalized, in a room without accessible toilet and he was not able to meet his physiological needs.

2.5 Support services

Situation in practice characterizes non-existence of support services for persons with disabilities, like personal assistance, what would enable realization of needs of many persons with disabilities.

2.6 Protection from discrimination

Anti-discrimination legislation specifically prohibits discrimination based on disability.

Currently the new law on the prohibition of discrimination against persons with disabilities is in preparation in order to define the relationship between this and the general anti-discrimination law, prescribe mechanisms for the protection and penalty clauses, define the missing forms of discrimination, etc.

During 2014 there were launched four judicial process by persons with disabilities before the courts in Montenegro. By the way, the courts are also inaccessible, so people with disabilities do not have equal access to justice.

3. Contribution of the European Commission

In its reports on the progress made towards membership of Montenegro in the European Union, European Commission is indicating the situation of persons with disabilities, what encourages, or pressures our government to take action to properly treat Montenegrin citizens with disabilities.

References:

· Legislative

· Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.

· Strategy for integration of persons with disabilities

· Systemic monitoring – report

· Material of the Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro

· Human rights of persons with disabilities – Report for Montenegro – 2010

[1] The survey was conducted by the Centre for Monitoring and Research, for the purposes of the Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro, within the project "Lets stronger capacities to capacitate the changes", which is funded by the European Union through Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro.