Project Associate, Disability Determination Reform

Background

Persons with disabilities in Montenegro continue to face systemic barriers that limit their full and active participation in social, economic, and political life. Despite the country’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) in 2009, the current legal framework and practices remain rooted in a fragmented, medicalized approach that acts as a bottleneck to equitable access to entitlements and services, perpetuating inequality, exclusion, and inefficient use of public resources.

At the root of these challenges lies the outdated medical model of disability determination, which focuses on diagnosis rather than the interaction between individuals and their environment, and support needs. This narrow approach excludes many people whose disabilities do not fit standard medical categories. Beneath this are persistent institutional weaknesses. More than fifty commissions currently operate across five sectors—social protection, employment, pension and disability insurance, education, and war veteran protection—each applying different criteria. This fragmentation leads to inconsistent decisions, duplication of effort, and excessive administrative costs. The absence of a unified digital infrastructure and a national e-Registry of persons with disabilities further limits data collection, evidence-based policymaking, and coordination among institutions. These structural inefficiencies are reinforced by outdated public attitudes that perceive disability as a deficiency rather than a rights issue.

Furthermore, the fragmented system of numerous separate cash benefits available to persons with disabilities further complicates the exercise of basic rights for persons with disabilities and their family members. These benefits are administered by different institutions using unaligned eligibility criteria and procedures. The benefit amounts are not based on the actual additional costs of living with a disabili