Montenegro

6% of girls in Montenegro marry before age 18 and 2% marry before age 15.

3% of boys marry before age 18.

Child marriage is most prevalent in the north of the country and in rural areas. In the north of Montenegro, 12% of girls are married by the age of 18 and 0.2% of boys; in the centre 7% of girls are married by the age of 18 and 1% of boys. In the south of Montenegro, 6% of girls are married before the age of 18 and 3% of boys. The highest prevalence of child marriage exists amongst the Roma and Balkan Egyptian communities.

Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys.

Child marriage in Montenegro is exacerbated by:

● Gender inequality: Women and girls are disproportionately affected by child marriage. Girls are expected to obey the societal rules imposed on them and parental decisions on child marriage are not viewed as duress but rather as desirable and should be respected. It is believed that girls should be married younger than boys.

● Harmful practices: Child marriage is justified and viewed as a traditional practice that should be obeyed. There is an obligation on families to receive money for “buying a bride.” Higher bridal prices are paid if the girl has preserved her virginity.

● Level of education: 28% of women who only completed primary school were married before the age of 18, compared to only 1% of women who had completed higher education.

● Poverty: 19% of women living in Montenegro’s poorest households were married as children, compared to 5% in the richest households.

● Religion: 15% of women who were married before the age of 18 were from Muslim households and 5% were from Orthodox households.

● Ethnicity: Child marriage and forced cohabitation is particularly common among Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, which often results in early pregnancy.

Montenegro has committed to ending child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The government submitted a Voluntary National Review at the 2022 High-Level Political Forum. In this review, the government noted the prevalence of child marriage, particularly within the Roma and Egyptian communities. The government acknowledged that national legislation does not provide adequate protection to children from trafficking – for example, the ability to marry at the age of 16, and deficiencies in the implementation of operational procedures envisaged for unaccompanied child migrants and refugees who are victims of trafficking.

Montenegro co-sponsored the following Human Rights Council resolutions: the 2013 procedural resolution on child, early and forced marriage, the 2015 resolution on child, early and forced marriage, the 2017 resolution on recognising the need to address child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian contexts, the 2019 resolution on the consequences of child marriage, the 2021 resolution on child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2023 resolution on ending and preventing forced marriage. In 2014, Montenegro also signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Montenegro co-sponsored the 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage.

Montenegro succeeded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2006, which the Committee on the Rights of the Child has interpreted to recommend the establishment of a minimum age of marriage of 18, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2006, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

During its 2017 review, the CEDAW Committee raised concerns of child and forced marriage and cohabitation among Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. It recommended that the government raise awareness of the harmful impact that child marriage has on the health and development of girls, identify, and protect victims of child marriage and raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 years.

In 2018, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed similar concerns as the CEDAW Committee had in 2017. It was recommended that Montenegro amend its legislation to remove all exceptions that allow marriage under the age of 18 years. It also recommended that the government establish a system in order to track all cases that involve child marriage amongst ethnic groups in Montenegro, particularly amongst the Ashkali, Roma and Egyptian communities.

During its 2024 Universal Periodic Review, it was noted that the government works alongside international organizations in order to conduct campaigns and raise awareness on child marriage and domestic violence in Roma and Egyptian communities.

During its 2018 Universal Periodic Review, Montenegro supported recommendations to continue its efforts to raise awareness about forced unions and child or forced marriages in Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, and agreed to review recommendations to take measures to prohibit child marriage.

In 2011, Montenegro ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (known as the Istanbul Convention), which considers forced marriage a serious form of violence against women and girls, and legally binds state parties to criminalise the intentional conduct of forcing an adult or child into a marriage.

Montenegro is a pathfinding country for the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children.

The government has made a significant effort in improving policy and the institutional framework to protect women and children from violence and exploitation, including adopting the Strategy for the Prevention and Protection of Children from Violence 2017-2021. Another improvement has been the adoption of the Strategy for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings 2019-2024, which aims to tackle child marriage. It indicates that child marriage may amount to the sale of children for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour.

In March 2020, the government of Montenegro launched a campaign against child marriages titled "Children are Children". The campaign is conducted by the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the Police Directorate, in cooperation with the NGO Centre for Roma Initiatives.

The aim of the campaign is to raise the awareness of the harmful effects of arranged child marriage and inform that is a form of trafficking in human beings and a serious crime. The campaign will be especially focused on working with members of the Roma and Egyptian communities in Podgorica, Nikšić, Tivat and Berane.

Legislation surrounding marriage in Montenegro is found under Part two of the Family Law Act. Article 24 of the Family Law of Montenegro 2007, sets the minimum legal age of marriage as 18 years. However, individuals may marry at 16 years with permission of the court.

Under Article 214 of the Criminal Code, it states that a person who coerces another into marriage will be punished with a prison sentence of 6 months to 5 years.