2023 - Governance, Rule of Law, and Human Rights

Outcome 3

Governance, Rule of Law, and Human Rights

By 2026, governance is more transparent and accountable, enabling people (women and girls, men and boys, and persons at risk of exclusion), to enjoy quality, inclusive services, enhanced rule of law and access to justice in line with Albania’s human rights commitments.

Empowering youth against hate speech in the Western Balkans

Fake news, misinformation and hate speech are causing significant harm to mental health, exacerbating social divisions and eroding trust in public institutions throughout the Western Balkans. Marginalized groups, particularly women and girls, are frequently targeted by hate speech. Of particular concern is the role of social media, which has become a fertile breeding ground for disinformation. Under a WB regional initiative supported

by the UN Peacebuilding Fund four UN agencies (UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and UNESCO) are collaborating to empower young individuals to take a stand against hate

speech and cultivate a safer digital environment. The project is engaging a diverse range of youth, including students, journalists, decision makers, politicians, artists and activists.

young women having a discussion at a workshop

Young participants discussing hate speech at the media literacy training in Belgrade, May 2023

Access to Justice

The UN supported government in improving and implementing changes to the justice system normative framework. Development and adoption of the first Cross-Sectoral Strategy for Protection of Victims of Crime, the inclusion of GE and child rights in the draft new Criminal Code and the National Plan for EU Integration and Roadmap as part of Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) were major achievements.

A public space in Shkoder used as a scene to run flash mobs, street theaters, paint exhibitions and mural art to call the attention of the community to support children’s journey away from crime. Part of the ‘Interdisciplinary collaboration on child-friendly justice’ programme.

Another important result was the issuance of the statelessness determination procedure by the Ministry of Interior (MoI), fulfilling Albania’s pledge at the 2019 High-Level Segment on Statelessness and the renewal by government of the commitment to strengthen implementation of statelessness provisions in the 2023 Global Refugee Forum.

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Supported by the UN, government, training institutions and justice authorities invested in capacity building around several pieces of legislation and strategies, affecting equitable access to justice, including the following:

188 (64 M) law enforcement, justice and care authorities were trained in various aspects of the child’s right, and equitable access, to justice. As a result, inter-sectoral referrals to the one-stop centres for victims of sexual violence in Fier and Shkoder increased exponentially. Use of child-friendly interview units doubled in 2023 compared to 2022. Inter-sectoral meetings for the case management of children in conflict or contact with the law took place, in contrast with the situation prior to UN interventions, while 16 leaders of Lezhe justice and care authorities signed an MoU to jointly manage these cases. Based on new data collection tools, reporting templates and instructions developed, the first results-based reports of the new Justice for Children Strategy 2022–2026 developed, represents a qualitative jump from the traditional, performance-based reporting of the previous J4C Strategy (2018–2021).

Capacities of 234 Bar Association members and attorneys were strengthened with regard to constitutional rights, the Constitutional Court and individual constitutional claims, gender-based violence (GBV), disability and property rights, among others, to ensure delivery of tailored free legal aid services to vulnerable groups.

Tripartite Reconciliation Offices at MoFE and the 12 Regional Employment Offices were trained and certified by the ILO International Training Centre in amicable labour dispute resolution and international labour standards. As a result, the system of such resolution of collective disputes was used to provide fast, professional and free mediation and reconciliation to the most vulnerable workers. Meanwhile, international labour standards became part of the School of Magistrates curricula for initial and in-service training programmes.

350 professionals were capacitated to improve service provision for confirming the nationality of persons at risk of statelessness.

In 2023, the UN, in partnership with Free Legal Aid (FLA) Centres and CSOs, supported vulnerable girls, boys, women and men to obtain a range of services concerning their right to access justice and obtain remedies.

206 (92 Roma, foreign unaccompanied and separated, stateless, victims of sexual or other abuse) children in conflict or contact with the law, or at risk of trafficking and 43 parents obtained legal assistance, access to employment programmes, medical attention, social housing or shelter through support of the UN and its partners Tirana Legal Aid Society and Today for the Future. Some 84 parents (15 males) of children in conflict or contact with the law, including Afghanis, strengthened their skills through parenting programmes.

The number of FLA Centres was increased to 12 from 10, providing assistance to 3,148 citizens (51% women), with an additional 4,289 (62% women) benefiting from CSO FLA services. Through collaboration with the Legal Aid Network, the legal aid needs of 200 children and their caregivers were covered, and 108 legal cases identified.

Of the 297 people at risk of statelessness assisted in 2023, 229 cases were resolved through administrative and judicial procedures. The UN supported demand for justice, particularly by investing in community information, awareness and engagement activities, reaching approximately 1,584 individuals across 36 municipalities, while 1,039 children (406 boys) and youth in three municipalities were engaged in awareness, artistic and community activities and demanded from authorities a friendlier and more accessible justice for children.

Good governance, participation and voice

In 2023, the UN continued its efforts to enhance the involvement of civil society and youth in decision making by establishing a supportive legal and financial framework.

Cash assistance services: Analysis was conducted to understand perceptions of cash assistance services and their impact on family dynamics, informing improvements to the social protection strategy. Approximately 10,000 families in Bulqize, Kamez, Kukes and Puke were reached with public awareness initiatives on the right to access social protection benefits. Capacity-building initiatives benefited 95 staff in selected municipalities, promoting an integrated approach linking cash assistance with services of employment, education, health and law enforcement, and addressing issues of illegal emigration, domestic violence and trafficking.

Regional West Balkans Basketball Tournament organized in the context of the regional project “Youth for Inclusion, Equality and Trust” supported by UNPBF and implemented by UNDP and UNFPA Albania.

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Data and Evidence

In 2023, the UN addressed key challenges to the collection and analysis of statistical data through several initiatives supporting Albania, including the following:

Cultural development indicators suite: Results of the Culture for Development Indicators Suite for Albania were completed and presented, underlining key challenges and supporting long-term policy development.

Child, adolescent and youth-focused indicators: In the framework of the National Official Statistics Programme 2023–2026, INSTAT published more than 120 such indicators accompanied by an interactive visualisation dashboard. To enhance monitoring of the Agenda of Child Rights, the Child-focused indicators platform was restructured to fit with the improved regulatory framework, expanding the scope and number of indicators from 58 to 62. The released data were instrumental for MoHSP drafting a mid-term monitoring report for the National Agenda for Child Rights 2021–2026.

“SDGs with a Focus on Data Literacy” conference in May 2023, convened by INSTAT with support of the Swiss Federal Statistics Office.

Public sector accountability and quality services:

Improved access to public services and the quality and efficiency of their delivery to citizens and businesses was evidenced in 2023 through the active contribution of the UN in strengthening governance, digital capabilities and adherence to international standards.

Dissemination workshop: Good practice of Participatory Decision making at local level

The UN actively supported the EU accession processes through tailored expertise, knowledge and best practices in Cluster 5 (Resource, agriculture and cohesion) and Cluster 3 (Competitiveness & inclusive growth) including possible regional flagship events in the energy and climate space, as follows:

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Accountability and oversight for human rights

Advocacy and engagement with Parliament and national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in 2023 centred on crucial issues that included child rights, GE, combating non-discriminatory violence against women (VAW) and addressing harmful practices. To enhance public oversight, capacities of monitoring mechanisms were strengthened, with specific focus on generating evidence on the situation of vulnerable groups such as irregular migrants, including the following:

Friends of Children group of Members of Parliament was equipped with information and arguments on child rights that were effectively used during 4 oversight hearings and on improvement proposals to two bills.
The newly established Parliamentary Institute was supported to conduct a legal comparative analysis on the digital rights of children.
Parliament increased the budget for the National Ombudsperson (People’s Advocate) during the mid-year budgetary review, a key advocacy point of the UN over the past few years.

People’s Advocate annual conference to mark Human Rights Day 2023

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The Second National Action Plan (NAP) for implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security was approved, following direct support and coordination with CSO partners and the international community. NAP reflects Albania’s strong commitment to promoting a more gender-responsive legal and policy framework on peace and security, building on the lessons learned during implementation of the first NAP, its non-permanent membership to the UN Security Council for 2022–2023 and membership to the Human Rights Council. Through continuous efforts in this area over the last few years, Albania improved its ranking by 15 places in the Women, Peace and Security global ranking from 2017 to 2023.

UN supported preparation of the State thematic report to GREVIO, the independent expert body responsible for monitoring implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) and updating of the CSO Shadow report to the CEDAW Committee and of its CSO Shadow report. UN also supported the preparatory sessions for members of the delegation and their engagement during the reporting session to the Committee. A gender-sensitive legal analysis of key legislation, including the Criminal, Family and Civil codes, was completed, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of gender-related legal frameworks and their alignment with international standards.

Children with disabilities and their families were empowered with information on how to access the remedies provided by the Ombudsperson through an illustrated brochure describing the most significant cases of children with disabilities handled by this NHRI in a child-friendly language. This effort contributed to increased transparency and trust, encouraging more children to come forward and use this complaint mechanism for violations of their rights. Some 100 boys and girls, teachers and parents in a secondary school were reached and increased their information on the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination (CPD) and the remedies it can offer for violations of child rights, concepts of equality, non-discrimination, diversity and inclusion. The Anti-Discrimination Law materials developed for that event were used in an additional 14 open days activities of the Commissioner nationwide resulting in increased demand for remedies. Additionally, capacity-building interventions focused on empowering 24 young individuals to engage in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, including those with disabilities, LGBTIQ youth and ethnic minorities.

As a result of effective collaboration of the Resident Coordinator's Office (RCO) and the UN agencies, the People’s Advocate annual conference was organised to mark Human Rights Day and the end of the 16 Days of Activism against Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). The conference was an opportunity to take stock of Albania’s progress in ensuring the human rights of various vulnerable groups and disseminate the recently issued Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and CEDAW Committees concluding observations to Albania. Support in 2023 continued to the People’s Advocate office for development of the Case Management System and on regularly monitoring of pre-screening procedures, living conditions in temporary accommodation and the closed centre for irregular migrants. Findings and recommendations were addressed to the General Directorate of Border and Migration Police.

Migration and asylum

During 2023, support for migration policy and institutional capacities in managing mixed movements of refugees and migrants in Albania yielded significant results, contributing to a comprehensive approach in managing migration, ensuring protection and advocating for the rights of vulnerable individuals and families.

IOM trains frontline partners on Collaborative Response to Migration Management

MoI is developing the National Strategy on Migration and Action Plan 2024–2030, while a Migration Governance Indicators assessment and evaluation of the Global Compact on Migration were conducted to inform the new Strategy on Migration.

The results of these actions include the following:

Highlights of Results on Governance, Rule of Law, and Human Rights

7,990+

People

had access to justice with UN support

206

Children

in conflict or contact with the law, or at risk of trafficking and 43 parents obtained legal assistance, access to employment programmes, medical attention, social housing or shelter through support of the UN

18

Municipalities

established more efficient and transparent system of funding of CSOs from public sources

180+

Justice Professionals

were trained on justice for children for both children in conflict and those in contact with the law

23

Municipalities

adopted integrity plans as a corruption prevention tool