Below is a statement of 36 Montenegrin NGOs that urged the Ministry of Defence to withdraw from the procedure controversial provisions of the Law on Classified Information that provide for unconstitutional hiding of information from the public.<\/p>\n
The statement was signed by:<\/p>\n
Center for Civic Education \u2013 CGO
\nCentre for Development of Non-Governmental Organizations \u2013 CRNVO
\nCenter for Democracy and Human Rights \u2013 CEDEM
\nCentre for Monitoring and Research \u2013 CEMI
\nHuman Rights Action \u2013 HRA
\nWomen’s Safe House S\u017dK
\nInstitute Alternative
\nNGO Green Home
\nPolitikon Network
\nNGO Media Centre
\nCenter for Civil Liberties \u2013 CEGAS
\nAssociation of professional journalists of Montenegro
\nNGO Eco Team
\nWomen’s Rights Center
\nOrganisation KOD
\nNGO New Horizon
\nANIMA \u2013 Centre for Women’s and Peace Education
\nNGO Workers from Bankrupt Companies in Montenegro
\nNGO Ecological Association Breznica
\nMontenegro\u2019s Committee of Lawyers for the Protection of Human Rights
\nNGO 35mm
\nNGO Hand to Hand
\nMSJA \u2013 Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby
\nAssociation of Youth with Disabilities \u2013 UMHCG
\nCenter for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro \u2013 CIN CG
\nUnion of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro
\nNGO Prima
\nHand of Friendship Foundation
\nNGO Institute for Business and Financial Literacy
\nCenter for Protection and Research of Birds \u2013 CZIP
\nFoundation \u201cHELP \u2013 Action for North of Montenegro\u201d
\nEnvironmental Movement OZON
\nNGO Expeditio
\nNGO Pandora
\nNGO Association for implementation of rights \u2013 UZIP
\nNGO Network for Affirmation of NGO Sector\u2013 MANS<\/p>\n
We invite the Ministry of Defence to delete provisions from the proposed amendments to the Law on Classified Information, which provide for unconstitutional hiding of information of public importance.<\/p>\n
The government withdrew identical amendments to the law from the parliamentary procedure after the public criticism of international and Montenegrin NGOs, however, the Ministry of Defence put identical proposal to public debate.<\/p>\n
Proposed amendments allow all state bodies to declare information secret, if their disclosure would influence “performing of activities of a state body”. Such broad definition of the reasons why documents can be hidden from the eyes of the public is not in accordance with the Constitution or international standards.<\/p>\n
Article 51 of the Constitution of Montenegro guarantees to all citizens the right to access information and stipulates \u00a0that it can be restricted only if it is in the interest of the protection of life; public health; morality and privacy; carrying of criminal proceedings; security and defence of Montenegro; foreign, monetary and economic policy.<\/p>\n
International standards and precise exemptions from the implementation of the right to access information are clearly laid down in Article 19, paragraph 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as Article 10, paragraph 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.<\/p>\n
These amendments to the Law were proposed due to increased practice of state authorities hiding key information about their work and spending of state money that was previously publicly available.<\/p>\n
In its latest report, the European Commission strongly criticized such practice by the institutions and concluded that the priority was to break such trend and improve both the practice and legislation.<\/p>\n
Instead, the proposed amendments to the Law introduce even greater space for hiding information and preventing NGOs and journalists from controlling the work of state authorities, discovering corruption, violation of human rights, and monitoring the implementation of government policies and obligations from the European integration process.<\/p>\n
Therefore, we urge the Ministry to respect the Constitution and laws of this country, as well as international conventions, and delete provisions from the proposed amendments to the Law on Classified Information that limit the right to access information, as well as the work of non-governmental organizations and journalists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Below is a statement of 36 Montenegrin NGOs that urged the Ministry of Defence to withdraw from the procedure controversial provisions of the Law on Classified Information that provide for unconstitutional hiding of information from the public. The statement was signed by: Center for Civic Education \u2013 CGO Centre for Development of Non-Governmental Organizations \u2013<\/p>\n