3rd Annual Report 

January to December 2002,

to the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly

Strasbourg, 19 June 2003

CommDH(2003)7

STATEMENT

BY MR ALVARO GIL-ROBLES

COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS,

ON HIS VISIT TO ALBANIA

20 - 22 October 2002

1.      At the invitation of Mr Ennir Dobjani, the Albanian "People’s Advocate” (Ombudsman), I made an official visit to Albania from 20 to 22 October 2002. I was accompanied by Mr Markus Jaeger, Deputy Head of my Oftice, who arrived in Albania two days before me to prepare for my visit. I also had the pleasure of once again meeting the Albanian Pennanent Representative to the Council of Europe, Ambassador Shpetim Caushi who took the time to accompany us to all of our official meetings except those with non­ governmental representatives.

2. I had already informed my interlocutors that I did not intend to make a detailed assessment of the general human rights situation in Albania. I do not consider it a good idea to add a further report to the numerous general and specific reports which various observers and human rights representatives. Including those from the Council of Europe, have written or are about to write on the subject of Albania.

3. The main purpose of my visit (see enclosed programme) was therefore to establish initial contact with the Albanian authorities, members of the opposition and representatives of civil society, to see for myself how human rights issues are perceived in Albania and to find out directly from Albanian political leaders how they intend to tackle these problems.

4. Among the many serious human rights problems facing Albania – the malfunctioning of the judicial system, the still too frequent police brutality, the deplorable conditions of detention in some of the premises I visited, the fact that police stations continue to be used for prolonged detention (despite the promises made long since by Albanian authorities to the Council of Europe!), dirficulties in gaining access to fundamental social rights such as the right to healthcare, etc. - I took special note of four specific problems: (i) the conditions of pre-trial detention. (ii) Albania's reputation for being closely involved in various forms of trafficking in human beings, (iii) women's and children's rights in Albania itself and (iv) the problems still posed by the tradition of blood vengeance.

5. (i) Some of the people I met in prison, who were being held “on remand”, should apparently have been considered as already serving their sentence, as the courts had already handed down their judgments. However, they have been waiting a long time, sometimes over 6 months, for notification of judgment. As a result the prisoners concerned are deprived of the regime to which sentenced persons are legally entitled. I also noticed that the under-age detainees I visited in prison n° 3 I 3 were completely cut off from the outside world with no access to either newspapers, radio or television. Mr Spiro Peçi, the Minister of Justice, promised me that these young offenders would be given access to a television in the days following our meeting and that he would ensure that this applied to all prisons.

6. (ii) It unfortunately became clear during my various meetings that Albania continues to be a centre for all sorts of trafficking in human beings: trafficking in Albanian women and girls for forced prostitution in other countries; trafficking in foreign women and girls, also for the purpose of  forced prostitution in other countries: trafficking in children for illegal work, for begging and for the purpose of selling their organs abroad (it is however difficult to verify this last allegation); and smuggling illegal Albanian and foreign immigrants into the European Union. However, I was also able to see for myself that all the government authorities are aware of and acknowledge these problems. I had the very strong impression that all the ministers concerned, and first and foremost the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic, are now genuinely tackling the problem of these widespread human rights violations. A national strategy was adopted in late 2001, setting deadlines and clear and ambitious objectives. According to the information I received - not only from government sources - the first stages in this strategy have actually been implemented and smuggling people by boat to Italy has stopped as a result. I hope that these efforts will continue and that, as stated in the national strategy, trafficking in human beings via Albania will be fully eliminated by the end of 2004. My office will continue to keep abreast of developments.

7.  (iii) The whole of Albanian society needs to become aware of the importance of respecting the rights of women and children. I therefore agreed with the Albanian Minister for Social Affairs and Employment, Ms Valentina Leskaj, that we would hold a joint seminar in Albania in 2003. At a second meeting with Ms Leskaj in Strasbourg on 14 November 2002,. we made progress in deciding on a programme for this seminar which would take account of local and regional concerns as we also wish to invite participants from neighbouring countries.

8. (iv) Traditional vendetta killings are continuing to have harmful eftects not only in Albania but also in some neighbouring countries. This phenomenon is little known in other parts of Europe but it wrecks the lives of some 2500 to 3500 people every year as the members of a murderer's clan are obliged to leave their homes and all their possessions behind them and find refuge elsewhere out of fear of murderous reprisals for an act which they did not commit. We discussed with the Minister of Public Order (Interior), Mr Luan Rama, the possibilities of organising a public debate on this spiral of violence at a meeting which should preferably, be held in one of the areas known for its “blood-for-blood” killings. We would like to hold this meeting in spring 2003.

9. The Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights wishes to call on the relevant Council of Europe departments to assist it in conducting these activities.

10. Notwithstanding the number and scope of the continuing human rights problems in Albania, this statement ends on two positive notes.

11. The Office of the Albanian Ombudsman raises high expectations. The People's Advocate, who, given the context, has impressive human and material resources, is taking all sorts of action, including vigorous audiovisual campaigns. We wish to thank him for the remarkable way in which he organised our visit and are confident that his office will give Albanian citizens efficient help in detending their rights.

12.  We were struck by the honesty and lucidity with which not only the Albanian authorities but also the members of the opposition - all of whom gave us a warm welcome - acknowledged Albania's problems. Given that they are so clearly aware of their problems, it should be possible, with the assistance of the Council of Europe and the Commissioner for Human Rights, among others, to make substantial progress in the not too distant future.