Release publication ‘Promotion of the Rights of Trafficked Persons in Albania’

In October, during the expert meeting in Tirana, the Center for Legal Civic Initiatives (CLCI) and NHC were pleased to present to participating judges, prosecutors and the School of Magistrates the final version of the legal analysis of the current situation in regard to the rights of victims of trafficking in Albania.

This in-depth report based on the detailed research of existing legislation and its implementation was prepared under the framework of the MATRA CoPROL project ‘Promoting a Victim-Centered Approach in Trafficking Cases in Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina’, financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The main goal of the current 3-year project is to support judges, prosecutors and judicial academies in making sure the rights of victims of human trafficking are guaranteed during judicial procedures. At the same time the project will strengthen the monitoring function of civil society.

The published analysis specifically aims at evaluating the Albanian legislation and state policies, as well as the judicial and administrative practices, while taking international standards as a benchmark. The report also identifies the discrepancies that exist between the existing legislation that establishes the rights of victims of human trafficking on the one hand, and its implementation to guarantee these rights in practice on the other hand. The report focuses on the treatment of trafficked persons as victims in criminal and other relevant legal proceedings, their access to legal aid and representation, their right to information, to protection of their safety and privacy, the right to compensation, etc.

The publication will be disseminated among the Albanian prosecutors, judges, lawyers, the School of Magistrates, the law faculties of universities, relevant NGOs and the members of the Anti Trafficking Mechanism in Albania.

Full report can be downloaded here.