OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid concludes visit to Montenegro

PODGORICA, 8 September 2023 — OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid concluded her visit to Montenegro today. During her visit, she met with high-level government officials and representatives of civil society organizations.  

On Friday morning, Secretary General Schmid met with President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović, and Prime Minister and Coordinator of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dritan Abazović.

“In our meetings, I underlined the productive partnership the OSCE and in particular our Mission has built with state institutions: we work together on a range of security and human rights issues such as the fight against organized crime and trafficking in human beings, strengthening the rule of law and the accountability of institutions, on women empowerment, freedom of media and hate speech, and much more. I also highlighted our commitment to continue to support the Montenegrin authorities in their reform journey as defined by their priorities and our OSCE principles”, said Secretary General Schmid.

The Secretary General also visited the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, where she met with Head of Mission Dominique Waag and Mission staff, commending their dedication and professionalism. She concluded the day with a site visit to a women’s shelter in Podgorica run by NGONGO
non-governmental organization Women’s Safe House that the Mission supports.   

Secretary General Schmid said, “It was extremely important for me to see first-hand the indispensable work that Women’s Safe House is doing. Gender-based violence knows no borders, making it a global challenge that demands collective action”. She commended the partnership the OSCE Mission has forged with the Women’s Safe House, ensuring that survivors of violence have a safe environment with professional support.

Secretary General Schmid also met with representatives of civil society organizations to exchange views about their work in support of the rule of law, human rights, gender equality and the safety of journalists.

During her trip to Montenegro, Secretary General Schmid attended the OSCE Regional Heads of Field Operations Meeting, which convened Heads of OSCE Missions from the region, representatives from the OSCE 2023 Chairpersonship and institutions, as well as external guests, to discuss the work of the OSCE in South-Eastern Europe and areas for future co-operation in the region.