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Context After a period of extreme isolation, Albania gradually began to open to the world in 1985 and has been involved in a period of significant political, economic, social, cultural, and institutional change in recent years. In the early 1990s, Albania became a party to the main United Nations human rights treaties. In the ensuing years of transition, people in the country have experienced serious challenges and upheavals including political and economic instability, poorly functioning institutions of governance, and the proliferation of organized crime and corruption. These problems continue today, as do difficulties in addressing them, partly due to a lack of experience. In these difficult circumstances, Albania has not begun to submit human rights reports to United Nations treaty bodies to which it is a party. The 1998 Constitution, approved by a referendum on 2 November 1998, establishes Albania as a parliamentary republic and provides as a basis for legal action which is consistent with international principles. However the implementation and respect for the rule of law are weak. Thus, it is important that support be provided to reinforce the importance of applying human rights principles. A panoply of bilateral and multilateral donors, including the various United Nations agencies and European organizations are involved in various projects with Government and civil society. Many of the development projects are large scaled and focus on building institutions of government generally, such as wholesale reform of the public administration, or reforming specific sectors such as the administration of justice, law enforcement, health, and education. None of these projects appear to be directly enhancing the capacity of public service to assess the protection of human rights in various sectors. The task of preparing State reports to human rights treaty bodies should be viewed in the context of these larger project efforts, as without broad reform, it is not likely to achieve the objectives of human rights treaty reporting. Conversely, projects providing assistance to the State to fulfill its treaty obligations would complement these larger project efforts by adding a human rights dimension to these sectors. The process of building and institutionalizing a functioning bureaucracy is underway in Albania. Corruption is a major problem that jeopardizes institutional development of the public sector as well as, more generally, social, economic and political development (Council of Ministers Combating Corruption in Albania: A Comprehensive Reform Program p.5). At present, institutional memory throughout the public sector is weak, and job turn-over high, in part due to extremely low salary levels. Reporting on human rights obligations would require, among other things, effort and information from staff in all ministries and they would have to be motivated to provide inputs. The "UN and Other International Organizations Department" at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would play an obvious role in coordinating the effort and transmitting reports to the UN. The Office of the Prime Minister, which employs several lawyers, would seem to be in a position to help ensure that the required information is obtained from relevant ministries. The adoption of an Order by the Council of Ministers to establish an Inter-ministerial Committee on UN Human Rights Treaty Reporting would facilitate this process. Given its role in the field of administration of justice, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), would be one of the key ministries involved in reporting. Consideration is being given to establishing a Human Rights Section within the MoJ (Positive progress has been made on legal reforms but there are ongoing concerns about qualifications and independence of the judiciary and lack of court facilities. See Plan of Action for the Albanian System of Justice p. 12). The Attorney General is responsible for criminal prosecutions throughout Albania. Every three months data on trials from 29 procuracies throughout the country are compiled. The Ministry of Public Order supervises the police (A large number of weapons are illegally in private hands, which along with the precarious economic and social conditions threaten stability. The rule of law is undermined by intimidation of both police and prosecutors, and by corruption). Absent a ministry of women’s affairs, the Committee on Women and Family is responsible for advocacy and services concerning women’s and children’s rights. The Committee has a very small budget and staff is restricted by its status as a committee in relating to government ministries. INSTAT, the government repository of official statistics, has acquired a fair degree of proficiency in collecting data but analytical ability requires strengthening. There is an Institute of Pedagogical Research at the Ministry of Education that surveys best practices in certain Albanian schools and suggests policy options for future educational programs. The Ministry of Health and Environment and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs will play an important role as well. For reports to be comprehensive, information would be necessary from central government representatives throughout the country, ie., 12 prefectures, and from local government, ie., 36 districts and over 300 communes.
Project Justification For historical reasons, the needs and priorities of both Government and major civil society organizations in the human rights field have covered a broad spectrum. Deep and concentrated efforts are needed to build the capacity to systematically apply international standards and protect human rights. Because of the concern with suggesting a project that would have real impact in an area where the OHCHR has a unique ability or comparative advantage to assist, and to avoid overlapping with ongoing activities, the project will focus on the discrete area where the Government requested assistance: human rights treaty reporting. For the most part, the assistance, at least initially, should be characterized by a step-by-step approach. First, exposure of the Government to the implications of treaty reporting and the expression of a firm political commitment are prerequisites for beginning the process. Second, the preparatory phase would assist in developing an understanding of the needs and capacities as a basis for a full-fledged assistance aimed at capacity building.
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