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Geneva, 20 March 2002



STATEMENT BY MS. ARTA DADE
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF ALBANIA
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GENERAL DEBATE
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58th SESSION OF THE
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Geneva, 18 March – 26 April 2002



Distinguished Mr. Chairman
Ladies and Gentlemen

First, I would like to extend my greetings to You Mr. Chairman for your election and to express my conviction for the successful performance of the work of this Session under Your presidency. At the same time, I would like to express the deep appreciation of the Albanian Government to the work of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs. Mary Robinson, for fostering the protection of human rights all over the world.

It is my particular pleasure to participate at this important United Nations forum and make a brief presentation of the situation of human rights in Albania, as well as to express some considerations of the Albanian Government concerning the developments in the field of human rights in South Eastern Europe.

Mr. Chairman,

The Albanian government considers the protection of human rights and freedoms as a keystone of democracy. It is fully committed, like all former Albanian Governments, to guarantee the human rights sanctioned by the Constitution and the international conventions on human rights, to which Albania has acceded. Furthermore, the Albania’s foremost objective of Albania, which is the European integration, has put forward the government the obligation to enhance at a higher level the protection and respect of these rights and freedoms and to bring them closer to European standards.

The guaranteeing of civil and political rights for the citizens is in the focus of the work of the Government. The parliamentary elections held last year in Albania, as it has been noted by various international monitoring organizations as OSCE/ODIHR, marked a progress towards consolidation of democracy in Albania. The government has put its efforts to guarantee the basic right of the Albanian citizens, to elect their representatives in the highest governmental institutions. On the other hand, it is aware of some irregularities that occurred in this complicated and lengthy process, and it has clearly expressed its willingness and readiness to implement the recommendations of ODIHR. In this process, the government has also asked for the cooperation of the parliamentary opposition, which is becoming concrete by the work of a joint parliamentary commission, established to this aim.

The guaranteeing of the rights of individuals during the criminal proceedings is a matter of particular attention of the Albanian government. The Albanian Constitution provides that “no one can be subject of torture or brutal treatment”. According to these provisions, the Albanian authorities have taken the necessary administrative and penal measures to condemn those policemen or high officials of the police forces responsible for some cases of violence against detained persons. I would like to stress that these are isolated cases and often are caused by poor level of training of these officials or policemen with human rights standards and norms.

The rights of national minorities are another key element in the focus of the Albanian government. The Albanian society is traditionally characterized by peaceful coexistence and tolerance. Minorities enjoy all the rights sanctioned by the Constitution and the Framework Convention on the Rights of National Minorities of the Council of Europe, being fully integrated in the Albanian society. This level of respecting their rights and freedoms is highly appreciated in the observations made by international organizations like OSCE and Council of Europe. The Albanian government is aware that there are still problems in this respect such as Roma rights, which will be included in the framework of a national strategy to be drafted by the Albanian governmental institutions in cooperation with the civil society.

The fights against all traffics including the trafficking of human beings are one of the top priorities of the government. It has approved already the National Strategy on Combating Illegal Trafficking of Human Beings, which is bearing its fruits. Thanks to the efforts of the police structures and their cooperation with its neighboring authorities there is a 60% reduction of clandestine flow of persons from Albania or through its territory. Significant measures have been taken in cooperation with NGO-s international organizations like IOM, to provide the trafficked victims with aid and to reintegrate them. But, we still face the problem of repatriating those clandestines to their country of origin because of the lack of readmission agreements with the neighboring countries.

In Albania, there is an enormous flow of information provided by the independent public and private media. Despite the problems related with the level of professionalism of Albanian journalists their work is respected and encouraged by the government. The Albanian media is already aware of its important role and responsibility for the public information and promoting the transparency of the activity of governmental institutions.

The huge system of NGO-s operating in Albania provides more possibilities for the protection of the rights of Albanian citizens. Taking into account their role, the government has considered them as partners in the process of drafting national strategies for the protection of specific rights of citizens.

Mr. Chairman,

The Albanian Government is fully committed to fulfill its obligation to present the periodic reports for the United Nations conventions on human rights. This process is already in the right path and we are ready to present the first report of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, which will be followed by the reports for the other conventions. Also, we welcome the visits in Albania of special reporters and experts of the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights to observe the level of respecting of human rights in Albania and we express our willingness to cooperate with them in order to accomplish our national and international commitments in this field. In addition, we are committed to strengthen the role of the institutions dealing with the protection of human rights like the Office of Peoples Advocate (Ombudsman), which is becoming to have a significant impact in the activity and decision-making process of administrative institutions in favor of the protection of these rights and freedoms.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Albanian Government considers with satisfaction that the region of Southeastern Europe has entered an irreversible path to democracy and respecting of human rights. The road to European integration has raised the awareness of the countries of the region for the importance that protection of human rights have in the United Europe.

We express our admiration for the positive developments that has occurred in Kosova since the general elections held last year. Those elections marked an important step in relation to the implementation of the Security Council Resolution 1244. We have hailed the election of the governing institutions of Kosova, which are an expression of the will of the entire people of Kosova, including ethnic minorities that live there. We also hailed, the activity of UNMIK, KFOR, OSCE and particularly the efforts of Mr. Hans Haekerupp and Mr. Michael Steiner, for the establishment of democratic institutions in Kosova. Now, there are many concrete challenges and responsibilities for the governing institutions and the people of Kosova, to turn the kosovar society in a society where prevails peace, tolerance and cooperation among communities.

The Albanian Government follows with great interest the developments in FYROM. We have been clearly positioned ourselves against the acts of violence and extremism that happened last year in our neighbor country. We have shared the view that the political dialogue will bring about the solution of problems relating with the rights and freedoms of ethnic Albanians there. In this respect, we have welcomed the signing of Ohrid Agreement and the present legislative measure taken by Macedonian authorities for its implementation.

We have hailed the positive developments in FR of Yugoslavia for the consolidation of democracy, strengthening of rule of law and protection of human rights. We have welcomed the cooperation given by Serbian authorities to surrender Miloshevic to the Hague Tribunal. The beginning of the process against that person who is responsible for the indelible wounds caused to Balkan peoples. We consider the beginning of this process as a clear evidence of the willingness of the international community to put in place justice based on human principles and respect for international norms on human rights.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

After some days, Albania will conclude its Presidency of South East European Cooperation Process. In the Tirana Summit, to be held on 28 March 2002, the Heads of member countries will have the chance to confirm their commitment to foster peace, stability, democratic processes and protection of human rights and freedoms in the region. We truly believe that these commitments will find the due implementation in practice, to make South East Europe more democratic and prosperous.

Thank You.