After a complaint by the ERRC, the Montenegrin Onbudsman wants to reform the registration rules that he sees as biased against Roma.
The Ministry of Education and Science introduced Roma educational mediators in secondary education for the first time this school year, with the aim of promoting inclusion and reducing dropout of students from the Roma ethnic community. Through a public call, 20 individuals were selected to work directly with high school students and their families to overcome the educational and social challenges they face.
Let’s see what it really does.
The Centre for the Affirmation of the Roma and Egyptian Population – CAREP begins the implementation of the project “To See Each Other Better – to Understand Each Other Deeper”, with the support of the Fund for the Protection and Exercise of Minority Rights. They will fund a Forum Theatre as a Bridge of Understanding between Youth and Communities and will include a two-day training for 10–12 young people, three forum theatre performances in three municipalities, a public forum “Roma language and culture – how much do we know about Roma”, as well as the production and distribution of information brochures for schools and institutions.
On the occasion of the International Day of the Romani Language, on November 5, a panel discussion entitled “Our Language – Our Identity” was held in the gallery of the Cultural Centre in Bijelo Polje.
On behalf of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje, Miloš Kljajević said that this panel pays tribute to the rich cultural heritage of the Roma and the power of the language that has transmitted their stories, traditions and identity for centuries. He emphasized that the Romani language is a living witness to the long and complex history of the Roma.
Another article about the lack of Romano representation in the parliament of Montenegro. The problem is somewhat more complex than the article states: Reserved seats for minorities are pretty much useless, and traditional parties shun Roma representatives.
This requires action from the Roma community which, in many countries has a close to 10% voting block, to act.
The Roma Council in Montenegro informed that, based on the Law on Minority Rights and Freedoms and the Rules for the Election of Members of the Council of Minority Peoples, on 01.08.2025. it published a public call for applications for electors to participate in the electoral assembly for the election of members of the 5th convocation of the Roma Council. According to them, 27 applications for electors have arrived.
The small Roma minority is not really represented in the Montenegro parliament.
The Montenegro Ministry of Education and Science has announced that a competition has been launched for the recruitment of educational mediators to support the education of Roma students for the 2025/2026 school year. The plan is to recruit 85 people, including 50 mediators for primary education and 35 for secondary education.
Well, nice intentions, but will it suffice?
The President of the Roma Council of Montenegro, Mensur Šalaj, criticized the latest changes to the electoral legislation, stating that key measures that would enable the political participation of the Roma community at the state level have been omitted.
“We consider it completely unacceptable that our appeal for reducing the electoral threshold so that the Roma community could have an authentic representative in parliament has been ignored for years,” said Šalaj.
He particularly criticized minority political parties, which, according to him, show neither solidarity nor political will to support this initiative.
The Roma Council of Montenegro has strongly condemned the public statement of Veljo Stanišić, winner of the highest state award – the Thirteenth of July Award – who, commenting on Miloš Karadaglić’s decision to refuse the award, said in a public television appearance on TV Gradska: “That’s how Gypsies work.”
Two more articles on the concerns of the Committee of Experts of the Council of Europe warnings that Romanes is still not part of formal education, although there is a dictionary and several projects. It also states that there is no strategy for training Romanes teachers and that the lack of qualified personnel remains an obstacle. It also warned that it has not been introduced into official use in any municipality, despite previous recommendations.
The Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has welcomed some policy measures implemented by Montenegro in the field of the protection of minority languages, but expresses serious concern about the lack of progress when it comes to Romanes, in particular in the areas of education, institutional use and teacher training.
Today, ALFA Center promoted the collection of essays A Word for Coexistence and Tolerance in the hall of the Zahumlje Public Institution in Nikšić, Montenegro.
The collection consists of 11 essays by children of the Roma population from Nikšić. The essays were created at a creative writing workshop led by children’s writers Goran and Milica Radojičić, as a product of the central motif: All PEACE in us. The idea is that through essays, children present the importance and uniqueness of their culture, along with the importance of accepting all the differences in a society.
The Montenegro Roma Council expressed deep gratitude to citizens for their, as they said, invaluable support in the fight to preserve our cultural heritage and religious freedoms, especially in relation to the issue of preserving the mosque in Konik.
The representative of the Roma Council, Šejla Pepić, spoke at the session of the Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights and Freedoms about the current position of the Roma community in Montenegro. According to the Roma Council, there has been “no talk about Roma and their recognition as a national minority and later changes to the law concerning political participation.”
The Montenegrin Ministry of Justice made an open call for finding a translator for Romanes. Applicants can send their CVs within the next 20 days.
A new Roma glossary by Dr. Vesna Delić was published by the Public Institution Centre for the Preservation and Development of the Culture of Minorities of Montenegro. As far as is known, it is a unique publication that allows the interested public to get to know and get more information about Roma.
A fire ripped through a Roma settlement in Bar, Montenegro. The Roma Council has now allocated 12’000 euros for the repairs.
A fire in a Roma settlement in Bar, Montenegro, on Volujica hill, left four people dead.
The Roma Council said their thoughts are with the families of the victims and they bemoaned the precarious living conditions of the Roma there.
“Isen Gaši dedicated his entire life to the fight for Roma rights, he was often lonely, but he never gave up on his principles. As the president of the Roma Council, Isen Gaši left an indelible mark on the development, integration, inclusion and socialization of the Roma community in Montenegrin society “, the statement of the Roma Council points out.
May he rest in peace.
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