OSCE-organized workshop in Montenegro discusses preventing early forced marriages among vulnerable groups
The prevention of early forced marriages was the topic of a workshop organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro on 22 September 2015.
The event brought together experts in gender equality and combatting the trafficking in human beings from institutions in Montenegro. The panellists were representatives of national institutions, as well as from targeted municipalities and civil society.
Emphasizing the need for a multi-disciplinary approach, Minister for Human and Minority Rights Suad Numanović said that it was not enough to focus only on the victim as other members of family also needed support. “The present stigma and discrimination against Roma and Egyptian population is one of the main obstacles to their full participation in the education system. There is also the high rate of poverty, and low levels of education and literacy.”
Referring to the complex nature of this issue, the Ambassador of France in Montenegro, Veronique Brumeaux, recalled the provisions of the 2003 OSCE Action Plan on Gender Equality that should address the deep-rooted issue of human trafficking. “My wish is that this project will be able to implement actions that will really bring benefit to young women and girls who are exposed, especially through forced marriages to exploitation by traffickers.”
The Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro Dan Redford emphasized numerous factors that lead to the phenomenon of early marriage. “In this part of Europe it is mostly related to the negative aspects of tradition. Girls, mostly Roma and Egyptians, are sold as brides so that their families can provide for the means of survival. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, these kinds of actions present a severe breach of human rights - and, at the same time, a path to continue the vicious circle of poverty.”
This workshop is a part of a joint project of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, the French Permanent Mission to the OSCE and the French Embassy in Montenegro that will continue until the end of 2016.