The latest report of the European Commission shows that, despite progress in certain chapters, Montenegro still faces unfulfilled obligations within key chapters 23 and 24. It states, among other things, that the Government of Montenegro has not yet adopted the Draft Law on Legal Recognition of Gender Identity based on self-determination, although it has passed all the necessary steps in the legislative process, as well as consultation with the European Commission.

It was pointed out that within these most important chapters, without which it is impossible to conclude the process of European integration, no significant progress has been recorded, and that certain obligations are still insufficiently implemented and not harmonized with the EU legal acquis, and they concern, apart from the law on self-determination, the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination and the Law on Life Partnership of Persons of the Same Sex, the delay of which is particularly noted, since it has been waiting for full implementation for more than 5 years.

This report of the European Commission once again confirms that the lack of adoption of the Law on legal recognition of gender identity based on self-determination represents a serious failure of the state of Montenegro in fulfilling its international obligations in the area of ​​human rights protection. We remind you that the lack of this legal regulation means that part of Montenegrin citizens are still forced to go through the process of forced sterilization in order to harmonize their personal documents with their identity.

The importance of this law is not only symbolic, nor does it concern exclusively the transgender community. Its failure to adopt represents a continuation of the disregard of the recommendations mentioned in the EC report, which concern the report of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the United Nations (CPT) and a direct violation of the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, which in several judgments clearly defended the right of trans people to private and family life. This practice represents the key final benchmarks for the process of European integration in the area of ​​basic human rights, i.e. chapters 23 and 24.

It is symptomatic that the only recorded progress in the field of the quality of life of LGBTIQ persons highlighted in the report is the resolution of access to hormone therapy for transgender women — the result of our eight-year effort to influence the institutions to do their job and provide health care for all, and not the initiatives of the Government and its institutions, to whose address numerous requests have been received for years to resolve this issue.

Regardless of the encouraging messages coming from European officials, who persistently try to motivate Montenegro to meet the minimum criteria for EU membership, all this clearly shows that Montenegro cannot be understood as a serious candidate for membership in the European Union if it does not plan to respect the institutions, recommendations, and obligations that protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law. We remind the Government that this is not a secondary request, but a clear indicator of how frivolously the state treats its obligations within the most important chapters of the negotiation process.

If Montenegro aspires to be the next member of the European Union, it must provide all its citizens with adequate documents that reflect their personal description and identity, without inhumane coercion such as sterilization, which is a practice confirmed by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which has made significant decisions in recent years. It is the decisions of this court that establish mutual recognition of legal recognition of gender in the member states (Mirin case), recognize non-binary persons for the first time and extend protection against discrimination to include changes in gender identity (Mousse case), require rapid updating of identification documents without requiring sterilization for both refugees and citizens (Deldits case), thus making the human rights of transgender persons part of the legal acquis of the Union.

In addition, the opinion of the Chief Advocate of the Court of Justice in the Shipov case, whose decision is expected in early 2026, confirms that freedom of movement depends on access to documents that correspond to one’s living gender identity. It is not superfluous to remind the Government of Montenegro that the Commission undertook to monitor the application of the case law of the EU Court of Justice in the process of accession in the recently adopted EU Strategy for LGBTIQ persons. On page 19, in relation to (potential) candidate countries, it says: “The Commission will especially monitor compliance with EU legislation and relevant case law of the EU Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, issue recommendations and support measures to ensure the equality of LGBTIQ+ persons and fight against violence, hatred and discrimination.”

Therefore, it is time for the Government of Montenegro to finally put an end to this issue, and leave the violent practice of sterilization in the shameful past of our country, before it itself has to answer for such gross violations of human rights before the competent legal institutions, which we are sure will rule in favor of human rights, if they are guided by the Constitution of Montenegro and international public law, which has primacy over domestic legislation.

Justice may be slow, but it is definitely attainable, and we will, as before, continue to make every effort to ensure that all citizens of Montenegro have the right to a dignified and free life.