Human Rights Action (HRA) and Centre for Civic Education (CCE) call upon the National Coordination Body for Communicable Diseases and the Minister of Health to immediately ensure the testing of all persons in quarantine and their release into home self-isolation until the test results are received.

Only such treatment will prevent further unjustified differentia (discrimination) against persons who also came to Montenegro from countries with increased levels of infection (more than 25 cases per 100,000), which were allowed to enter Montenegro by private yachts and planes, with tests not older than two days, or other special permits, without referrals to quarantine or self-isolation, as well as to those placed in self-isolation or released from quarantine before the expiry of the 14-days without waiting for the test results. We also pointed out this discrimination through the example of the systematic violation of the rights of Montenegrin seafarers, who currently represent the majority of persons in quarantine.

CCE and HRA point to the uneven, unclear and worrying practice of health inspectors to arbitrarily shorten the quarantine period of individuals to less than 14 days (“maximum incubation time”) without accompanying explanation, as prescribed by Order from 29 May and as recommended by the World Health Organisation. We enclose examples of such decisions (with deleted personal data) in which the inspectors are shortening incubation time, i.e. quarantine to 7 and 4 days. It is obvious that the quarantine measure is not necessary and that everyone is not equal before the law, which supports the requirement that everyone should be tested immediately and released into self-isolation until the test results are obtained.

Having on mind the news that the Institute of Public Health has procured sufficient amount of tests, we appeal to organise testing at the expense of the state at the state borders (for citizens and residents) and with compensation for everyone else, to wait for the results in home isolation and to suspend locking people in quarantines.

Daliborka Uljarević, Executive Director of the Centre for Civic Education (CCE)

Tea Gorjanc Prelević, Executive Director of the Human Rights Action (HRA)