OSCE Mission to Montenegro organizes conference on preventing early forced marriages
A conference on preventing early forced marriages among vulnerable groups was organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro together with the Permanent Mission of France to the OSCE in Podgorica on 2 and 3 November 2017.
More than 50 participants, including national and local authorities and representatives of civil society from Montenegro and the region, gathered for the event.
Opening the conference, the Montenegrin Minister of Human and Minority Rights, Mehmed Zenka, stressed the importance of education and economic empowerment for women from vulnerable groups: “Systemic support to potential victims of forced marriage is important and the involvement of all social resources and joint action is key.”
“We want to continue promoting an integrated approach to early forced marriages,” said Alexandre Vulic, Deputy Permanent Representative of France to the OSCE, expressing his appreciation for the activities implemented by the Mission in Montenegro.
The Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, Maryse Daviet, thanked the French Government, the Permanent Mission of France to the OSCE and the French Embassy in Montenegro for their generous support in the planning, delivery and evaluation of the project. “I hope that as a result of today’s conference and our combined efforts, all girls in Montenegro can realize their right to a childhood,” she said.
During the conference, experts engaged by the Mission presented a mapping analysis conducted under the project in six Montenegrin municipalities, which provides a comprehensive overview of early forced marriages in the country. They also presented a model local action plan for the inclusion of the Roma and Egyptian population, a group particularly vulnerable to early forced marriage. The local action plan aims to strengthen the capacities of relevant local authorities and civil society in dealing with Roma and Egyptian inclusion
The participants stressed the need for co-ordinated and comprehensive efforts in the area of early forced marriages and appreciated the opportunity to engage in an open and interactive discussion, which offered an insight into the different perspectives of the relevant stakeholders. .
The extra-budgetary project “Prevention of early forced marriages among vulnerable groups” was implemented with the financial support of France.