The Government of Montenegro reviewed and adopted the Information on the Accession of Montenegro to the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons who are visually impaired or otherwise print disabled at the Government session held on January 16, 2020.
It is the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy to produce and submit to the Government the Draft Bill on confirmation of the Marrakesh Treaty.
Recognizing both the importance and the benefits that Marrakesh Treaty brings to persons who are visually impaired or otherwise print disabled, we believe that there is a need for the accession of Montenegro to the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate the access to published works for persons who are visually impaired or otherwise print disabled, and that the confirmation of this Treaty would be expedient and necessary.
During the previous two years, with the support of the European Blind Union, the Union of the Blind of Montenegro arranged a series of events in Montenegro and countries of the Western Balkans, with the aim to present the benefits and importance of the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty to stakeholders.
An easier way of ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty in the Western Balkan countries is via the project realized by the Union of the Blind of Montenegro, in partnership with Unions of the Blind of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia, supported by the EBU Solidarity Fund.
The aim of this project is to present the importance of the Marrakesh Treaty to all participants in Montenegro, as well as to those in the Western Balkans region, especially in Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania.
We organized four round-table discussions in the region: one in Albania, one in BiH, one in Macedonia, one in Serbia and three round tables in Montenegro. We also prepared and broadcast videos in all languages about the significance of the Marrakesh Treaty.
A regional work conference in Montenegro was held on February 28, 2019. The conference was attended by representatives of partner organizations on the project, representatives of the EBU Barbara Martin Munoz and Antoine Fobe, representatives of ministries, libraries, institutes, schools and non-governmental organizations. During the conference, the director of the copyright and creative industries division of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Michelle J. Woods addressed the participants via Skype.
The conference gave real encouragement and the promise of the Government of Montenegro that the Marrakesh Treaty would be ratified as soon as possible.