Institute alternative has addressed the members of the Security and Defense Committee with proposal of amendments to the Law on Deployment of the Armed Forces of Montenegro Units to the International Forces (…)* that would include the Parliament in deciding on deploying the police and other state organs in peacekeeping missions. Amendments to this law on the agenda of today’s session of the Committee, but they do not treat the control the deployment of the Police, which is becoming increasingly common form of contributions to peacekeeping missions.
Unlike the units of the Army of Montenegro, when deciding on deploying the representatives of the police, civil protection and public administration bodies to peacekeeping missions, the Government is not obliged to obtain the approval of the Parliament.
The Government alone decides on the participation of members of civil defense, police and state administration employees in peacekeeping missions and other activities abroad, while the Parliament is completely excluded from this process.
Security and Defense Committee was not consulted when making these decisions, nor it was, in the previous period, particularly informed about the activities of the representative of the Police Administration in peacekeeping missions, except for scarce and basic information in the annual report of the Ministry of Interior
This is particularly worrying because the Law on Parliamentary Oversight of Security and Defense explicitly states the duty of the Committee to deliberate these reports, and therefore the competent institutions to regularly submit them.
We believe that the approval of the Parliament is necessary and when deciding on deployment of members of civilians, police and employees of the state administration in missions abroad.
The solution currently in force dates from 2008, but it was made outdated and incomplete by adopting the Law on Parliamentary Oversight, and represents one of the obstacles to the further development of parliamentary oversight in the area of security and defense.
* Full name of the law: Law On Deployment of the Armed Forces Of Montenegro Units to the International Forces And Participation Of Members Of Civil Defence, Police And Public Administration Employees In The International Missions And Other Activities Abroad
Institute Alternative Team
