PODGORICA, 26 December 2025 – At its session held on 25 December, the Government of Montenegro adopted a Decision establishing an Intersectoral Working Group for the establishment of a mechanism for the safety of journalists. As stated, the mechanism will enable a systematic, coordinated, and inclusive approach to addressing issues related to journalists’ safety, as well as improving the institutional framework and practice.
A key step toward establishing a national Mechanism for the Safety of Journalists was taken in October, when, at the initiative of the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro, representatives of government departments, the police, the prosecution, and the media community signed the Protocol on the Protection of Journalists.
Following the session, the Government stated that the Working Group will consist of two media representatives (the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Working Group), as well as representatives of the Government’s General Secretariat, the Ministry of the Interior, the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office, and two additional media representatives.
The tasks of the Working Group include analyzing the existing institutional, normative, and operational framework in the field of journalists’ safety, continuous monitoring (establishing a rapid response system), and providing free legal and psychological support.
The Working Group will also analyze and identify the institutional framework for the future mechanism, identify challenges, risks, and shortcomings in the actions of competent authorities, and propose concrete measures and mechanisms to improve journalists’ safety, including prevention measures, protection, and effective institutional response.
“Special emphasis is placed on developing recommendations and, where necessary, proposals for amendments to existing regulations or the adoption of new acts, with the aim of strengthening cooperation and trust between state authorities and the media community,” the statement reads.
It is concluded that the adoption of the Decision establishing the Working Group represents a justified, necessary, and systemic response by the Government of Montenegro to the challenges in this field.
TUMM: The Protocol Is Not Merely Declarative but Is Being Implemented in Practice
The Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM) welcomed the adoption of the Decision, adding that the Government had thereby taken the first step toward the concrete implementation of the Protocol on the Protection of Journalists.
“As envisaged, the Working Group should focus on analyzing the existing institutional and legal framework and proposing concrete solutions for the future national mechanism. It is particularly significant that the Working Group will, even in the initial phase, assume the basic functions of the mechanism, such as monitoring ongoing cases and providing legal and psychological support to journalists,” the Union stated.
They emphasized that in this way, the Protocol does not remain at the level of declarative support, but is implemented in practice through operational mechanisms.
They recalled that the Protocol was signed by representatives of the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office, the ministries of culture and media, internal affairs, and justice, the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro, Radio and Television of Montenegro, the Association of Local Public Broadcasters, Television and daily newspaper Vijesti, Monitor, and the portal Analitika.
According to the Union, the Working Group is established for a period of one year and includes representatives of the General Secretariat of the Government of Montenegro, the Basic State Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of the Interior, and representatives of the media community, who, as the initiator of the mechanism, will be proposed by the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro.
“We expect that everyone involved will, in the initial phase, contribute to ensuring a swift and efficient response by all stakeholders, as well as to identifying an adequate institutional framework for the functioning of the future mechanism. We recall that fulfilling this obligation—namely, creating an effective national mechanism for the protection of journalists—is fully in line with the most recent recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee from May of this year,” the Trade Union’s statement concludes.