Asked whether he considers that Montenegro is ready for a possible wave of migrants, Perks said that Montenegro needed absolutely no advice on this matter.
“The country has done a spectacular job when it comes to refugees from Kosovo, so I would rather ask them how they did it. The government then showed that it was capable of conducting a competent and well-organised process of preparations which was supported by international humanitarian aid organisations,” he added in an interview with radio Antena M.
As he said, they are ready to assist the government if Montenegro becomes a new route for migrants, Mina news agency carried.
“Of course, the country must be ready for any crisis, regardless of whether it occurred or not and I personally believe that Montenegro has done a good job so far,” Perks said.
Perks also commented on child poverty in Montenegro, noting that the UN data show that 10% of the youngest population in our country lives in poverty, explaining that it is a relative, not an absolute poverty. He also said that the rights of children were generally respected in Montenegro, but that there were areas which should be improved.
“As a UN diplomat, I am not interested nor do I want to blame anyone for this problem. I think this is a problem of the whole society. One of my biggest concerns and one of the characteristics of Montenegro is that there is almost no open debates, discussions or talks within the society on the subject of poverty, including child poverty,” said Perks.
He believes that poverty is unlikely to be a priority for anyone if it is not a topical issue in the society.
Explaining the term “absolute poverty”, Perks said it existed in the countries where people lived on $1 a day or less and that this category was related to serious malnutrition. This type of poverty still exists in parts of Africa.
“We are witnessing that some broadcasters report on serious and dramatic cases of hunger and poverty in families, but that is not absolute poverty. It does not exist in Montenegro,” Perks said.
According to him, the majority of poor children in Montenegro are not refugees or Roma children.
“More than 15,000 children live in poverty in Montenegro. I think only a few thousand of them are refugees and 3,000–4,000 Roma children. It is true that most of refugee and Roma children live in poverty, but it is not true that the majority of the total number of poor children in Montenegro are refugees,” said Perks.
As he said, the system of child protection in Montenegro is in transition and there has been significant progress.
“I think that the legal framework has been harmonised with international human rights mechanisms, but we have to have the full implementation in the education, healthcare, social and legal systems. We also need to improve the awareness of society about the importance of respecting children’s rights, the importance of constant improvement of children’s development in accordance with the development of science in that matter,” said Perks.
Perks argues that as long as there are such things to be worked on, it is difficult to say that children’s rights are fully respected.
“The good thing is that there is a general opinion and effort to improve things in the society, in the government and the political parties. I think the biggest disadvantages of the system are the same as in other systems. You have too many arbitrary estimates and lack of facts and research. Sometimes things are not systematic to a sufficient extent. But this is something that is characteristic for all countries in transition,” said Perks.
Asked whether children in Montenegro are in the same position as children in the region, Perks said “yes and no”.
“Montenegro is a higher middle-income country. There is a tendency in the country of making comparisons with Western Europe countries. I think it is wrong because their economic and social development is at another level,” he said.
As Perks said, if we make a comparison with the countries in the neighbourhood, such as Serbia and Croatia, then Montenegro is progressing relatively well and it is in a better position than some other countries such as Albania, Macedonia.
