By adopting the Draft Program for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union for the period 2026-2027, the Government of Montenegro confirmed that the adoption of the Law on Legal Recognition of Gender Identity on the basis of self-determination is among the priority measures for closing the most important negotiation chapters with the European Union. With this program, Montenegro committed itself to the adoption of the law on self-determination by the end of the second quarter, and to the beginning of its implementation in the third quarter of the current year.

However, we remind you that this is not a new or future obligation, but a law that has long been finalized, institutionally harmonized and ready for adoption, as indicated by all relevant international reports and recommendations of international bodies. Its further retention outside the parliamentary procedure represents not only a direct violation of human rights and freedoms, but also a gross deviation from the obligations that Montenegro itself undertook within the accession process, but also by agreeing to be part of the international public legal order.

We remind you that the reports of the institutions of the European Union, including the European Commission and the European Parliament, as well as relevant bodies of the United Nations and the Council of Europe, and of particular importance the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union, clearly indicate for years that it is necessary to provide legal recognition of gender identity without medical interventions as a prerequisite. This would abolish the inhumane practice of forced sterilization, and the outdated practice of pathologizing as a prerequisite for realizing this basic human right.

In order to remain consistent with its efforts towards the EU, the Government of Montenegro must respect international standards of human rights and the international and European legal order, which cannot be the case until it closes Chapter 23, which, among other things, implies the final adoption of the Draft Law on legal recognition of gender identity based on self-determination.

Although it is commendable that the adoption of this law is recognized as a condition in the process of accession to the European Union, the fact that the protection of basic human rights is not recognized as an internal obligation of the state towards its own citizens, but also that this urgent issue, which is part of the Accession Program and the Action Plan for Chapter 23, has been dragging on for years is a concern.The Government of Montenegro has a constitutional duty to ensure equal protection of the rights of all, regardless of whether it is also part of European integration. For this reason, we will continue to closely monitor the process of respecting human rights, with special reference to this issue as a matter of gender equality, with special attention to the deadlines set in the EU Accession Program.