March 3, 2015
Ambassador Uyehara and Supreme Court President Medenica at the conference
Ambassador Uyehara speaks at the opening of the event
US Embassy Podgorica in partnership with the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice and the Judicial Training Center organized a two day Conference on Strategies of Countering Violent Extremism in Montenegro, including the Implementation of the Planned Foreign Fighter Amendments to the Criminal Code.
The event was opened by US Ambassador to Montenegro Margaret Uyehara, the President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro Vesna Medenica, Supreme State Prosecutor Ivica Stankovic, and General Director of the Directorate for Judiciary of the Ministry of Justice Branka Lakocevic.
This is the second event of the US Embassy on the issue of foreign fighters from Montenegro. The first event held in October 2014 produced input for the planned amendments to the Criminal Code on foreign fighters, expected to be adopted by the Parliament of Montenegro later this month. This two-day conference focused on building capacity to effectively investigate and prosecute such foreign fighters using both these new amendments and existing provisions of law. It was also designed to assist Montenegro in adopting a comprehensive strategy for Countering Violent Extremism, in line with the UN Resolution 2178 on Foreign Fighters. The Conference gathered over 50 representatives of the Montenegrin Courts, Prosecution, and the Police, who had the opportunity to learn from regional and international experts, and also exchange experiences and best practices on this topic.
This event was funded by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), through the US Embassy in Podgorica.
