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RELEASE TO THE PRESS
08.12.2007
Respect for and protection of the
rights of minorities and groups vulnerable to
discrimination has been and remains within the
attention of the Albanian Helsinki Committee.
Recently, AHC conducted a research study from
the standpoint of recommendations by the
European Convention against Racism and
Intolerance (ECRI) with regard to respect for
the rights of the Roma and Egyptians, issued in
the third report on Albania. Some of the main
conclusions of the study are:
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From the time of the
publication of the Third Report on Albania by ECRI (2004), several positive improvements have
been made to penal legislation, considering an
aggravating circumstance the commission of a
wrongdoing because of motives related to gender,
race, religion, nationality, language,
political, religious, or social beliefs.
Furthermore, the amendments envision the
commission of the penal offence of Torture for
reasons of discrimination.
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To date, there is no
special law against discrimination. In 2006,
civil society actors took the initiative to
compile the draft law against discrimination;
the draft has not been approved yet.
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In spite of efforts to
increase representation of minorities in
different state structures, the Egyptian
community does not yet have a representative at
the State Committee on Minorities, based on the
argument that it is not recognized as a
minority. All other minorities have a
representative on this Committee. It is
recommendable that this Committee strengthens
its role in protection of the rights of
minorities and groups such as the Egyptians.
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In the area of education,
there has been progress regarding new programs
of civic education, history, etc. Minorities,
tolerance, understanding, and coexistence have
taken up an important place in new textbooks. A
group has been established to review the
contents of history texts in order to remove
expressions that may be denigrating toward the
minorities. Nevertheless, the textbook review
process is delayed. There is no data whether
publishing houses cooperate with minority
representatives in drafting these textbooks.
Although texts are evaluated by groups of
experts of the Ministry of Education and Science
(MES), who work on the basis of established
instructions and standards for the approval of
history texts and of agreements that the MES has
in this area, groups of textbook authors should
be informed about recommendations existing in
this area.
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For some time now, the
People’s Advocate and the civil society have
taken the initiative to amend the law on “Civil
Registry,” but no ??? has been ??? to date.
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To date, there are no
statistics highlighting the status of attendance
of kindergartens by Roma children or on the
absorption capacities of pre-school education
institutions for children of this community.
Although the opening and functioning of Roma
kindergartens has been one of the priority
measures that found b broad support from foreign
and local donors thanks to cooperation with Roma
associations, local government bodies need to
take more initiatives. Local government units
have taken measures to encourage the
registration of Roma children in pre-school
education institutions. The experience of Tirana
Municipality to increase absorption capacities
by reducing fees for families in need is a
commendable initiatives; however, there is no
information about similar initiatives at other
districts’ local government units.
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For 2007, MES gave
priority to investments targeting the Roma
community through a round of competitive grants.
Local government units where Roma communities
live should be more proactive to attract funds
from the state budget through these projects.
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Sensitization campaigns
for the inclusion of Roma children have been
partial and not all-inclusive. They have lacked
the coordination of organizations’ means and
forces with those of education institutions. It
is necessary that all actors working in this
area coordinate their efforts.
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Although sanctions for
families failing to send their children to
school have been established, this measure
almost was not implemented. To assist pupils who
have abandoned school, the project “Second
chance” was initiated. AHC encourages such
initiatives and suggests that they are extended
to all regions where Roma communities live.
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In the context of reforms to
improve school curricula, it is recommendable
that new teaching plans that include optional
courses, the MES and curricula commissions
invite Roma community representatives to obtain
their input regarding topics to be incorporated
into programs and to get acquainted better with
minority values and cultures.
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Recently, there is increased
attention by the media to Roma minority issues,
although such attention is not adequate yet.
There have been cases when the media, in
covering issues of the Roma minority or the
Egyptian community, or events occurring within
these groups, has not respected journalism
ethics. Reporters’ training regarding minority
issues in Albania are not sufficient. It is
recommendable that reporters be better informed
about the value, culture, and traditions of
minorities and the professional ethics of
addressing their problems.
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The Roma minority and the
Egyptian community are poorly represented in
public life. Their election in representative
structures is done by considering mainly their
activism in political parties, but the Roma
minority and the Egyptian community do not earn
such representation easily.
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The implementation of
positive favorable measures for the employment
of minorities generally is not realized. Some
measures have been taken for their
representation in police ranks, but such
representation leaves much to be desired.
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With regard to the “Egyptian
community,” to date, the state has not
recognized this community as a minority group
that needs special attention. In spite of
recommendations by local and foreign
organizations, to date, no special strategy has
been envisioned targeting this community.
Notwithstanding non-recognition as a minority by
the state, the Egyptian community needs special
protection.
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