The Programme is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe.

Duration: 24 months

Budget: €1,650,000

Overall objective:

The Programme will contribute to better protection of human rights and prevention of discrimination in Albania.

Specific objectives:

Under the programme the capacities of the Human Rights (HR) and Anti-Discrimination (AD) bodies will be strengthened and their mode of coordination improved to effectively and efficiently implement and monitor anti-discrimination legislation and policies. In addition, awareness of the general public and specific target groups on key aspects of anti-discrimination policy will be enhanced.

Expected results:

• Improved coordination of the Human Rights and Anti-discrimination bodies and policies;
• Strengthened administrative/professional capacities and efficiency of the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination (CPD) and the Ombudsperson to effectively implement and monitor anti-discrimination law and policies;
• Increased level of awareness of the general public and specific target groups on the key aspects of anti-discrimination policy.

Programme Partners:

The Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination, the People’ Advocate and the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth.

The programme will also closely co-operate with other state institutions, district courts, local government units, international and local non-governmental and inter-governmental organisations, media operators and relevant stakeholders from the private sector.

Main activities:

• Analysis of the Albanian HR and AD system: detection of gaps, output shortages, lack of coherence and synchronisation, blockages, duplications, etc.
• Support to the implementation of relevant findings and recommendations at the policy and institutional levels with a view to effectively enforcing HR and AD legislation;
• Further improving the institutional set-up and coordination of the Albanian HR and AD bodies (i.e. the Ombudsperson and the CPD);
• Enhancing capacities and outreach of the CPD and the Ombudsperson through specialised training and hands-on support with view to increasing their case handling efficiency;
• Enhancing the monitoring and reporting capacities of the CPD, Ombudsperson, as well as their ability to formulate national strategies and action plans;
• Developing expertise and capacities of the CPD and Ombudsperson’s personnel;
• Establishing/strengthening an/the electronic database and case management system for CPD;
• Providing support for drafting and implementing preventive measures, in pilot municipalities with high record of discrimination cases, via the establishment of 3 pilot CPD desks.
• Providing support to the CPD for the implementation of its communication strategy;
• Developing a bespoke training programme on the implementation of AD law and policies for the representatives of Ministries, police, courts, local government units and private sector stakeholders;
• Improving public confidence in the efficiency of the complaints mechanism against instances of discrimination by means of publicising the results of CPD and Ombudsperson’s work;
• Conducting an awareness campaign on the meaning and the prohibition of discrimination and on existing complaints procedure.

Methodology and added value:

The Programme will use an array of methods established and proved by the Council of Europe for capacity development and awareness raising throughout its member states. As for the training activities, the project will largely rely on The European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (the HELP Programme). The HELP Programme supports the Council of Europe member states in implementing the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) at the national level, in accordance with the Committee of Ministers Recommendation (2004) 4, the 2010 Interlaken Declaration and the 2012 Brighton Declaration. This is done by enhancing the capacity of judges, lawyers and prosecutors in all 47 member states to apply the ECHR in their daily work.

The intervention is designed to meet the needs of the partners and remedy any shortcomings in human rights protection as identified by CoE’s judicial and monitoring bodies. Through its combination of standard setting, monitoring and cooperation, the Council of Europe is in a position to provide effective support for the protection of human rights and the prevention of discrimination in a comprehensive manner.

This webpage has been produced using funds of a joint project between the European Union and the Council of Europe. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.