Cooperation Towards a Goal Coalition: Cooperation between NGOs and Government Should Improve

The “Cooperation towards a Goal” NGO Coalition assessed that there are no institutional mechanisms for cooperation with the Government in Montenegro and proposed three key documents designed to improve the situation. The Coalition, including over 170 organizations, prepared drafts of a Strategy for Cooperation between the Government and NGOs, NGO Code of Conduct and Structure for NGO Financing from Public Funds. “We demand an urgent establishment of working groups/committees that will use the proposed documents to prepare, in cooperation with Coalition representatives, the final versions of these three documents and submit them to Government and Parliament for their consideration”, Goran Djurovic, the President of Coalition Board said at the recent round-table discussion organized by the Coalition. He added that the NGOs “don’t want to read again in European Commission’s reports that there is not enough understanding for their true role in society”. Djurovic said that the Law regulating the work and operations of NGOs should be changed and amended, as recommended to the Government 16 months ago. Zlatko Vujovic, the Coordinator of the NGO Code of Conduct Working Group, said that such a document is necessary for it sheds light on the issue “...who, among the 3.2 thousand registered NGOs in the country has the legitimacy to represent the NGOs”. ”We are aware that among that great number, there are NGOs that were not found with the goal to initiate certain social changes, but to take the advantage of some liberal provisions in the Law on NGOs, as well as tax benefits”, said Vujovic. In his view, there was a visible progress in the NGO sector in Montenegro, to the effect that the whole sector has risen to a status of reliable and stable partner. ”The NGO Code is intended to demonstrate that we are prepared not just to regulate our relations with other sectors from which we demanded transparency of operations, but to adopt and impose such practices on ourselves”, added Vujovic. He announced the forming of an Assembly of Code Signatory Parties, which will elect an NGO self-regulatory body, which will be charged with supervision of adherence to the document. The body should have the power to expel the NGOs that violate the Code that they initially supported and inform the public about the problems. Stevo Muk, Coordinator of Working Group on Drafting the Strategy foo Cooperation between Government and NGOs, reminded the gathering of the recommendations that the European Partnership submitted to the Government two years ago, regarding the improved communication with NGO sector. "The Strategy aims to create the conditions for more intensive inclusion of NGOs in partnerships with the Government, definition of long-term Government policies towards NGOs, directions on status, financing, consulting, informing of NGO sector and its participation in public policies and legislation”, said Muk. Daliborka Uljarevic said, on the behalf of the Working Group for Preparation of Structure of NGO financing from public fund, that the documents should be seen as “expression of constructive disagreement” coming from the sector. ”This could prove to be an important contribution for the decision-makers who still fail to see NGOs as serious partner but rather as social decoration that could be easily adopted, depending on prevailing interests”, said Uljarevic.