Honouring of obligations and commitments by Albania
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 25 January 2007 (8th Sitting) (see Doc. 11115, report of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations
and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring
Committee), co-rapporteurs: Mr Platvoet and Mr Wilshire). Text adopted by the Assembly on
25 January 2007 (8th Sitting).
- Thesaurus
1. Albania joined the Council of Europe
on 29 June 1995. Upon accession, Albania accepted the statutory obligations
incumbent on all member states of the Council of Europe. It also
entered into a number of specific commitments which it agreed to
honour within specified deadlines listed in Assembly
Opinion No. 189 (1995).
2. The last monitoring report examined by the Parliamentary Assembly
and
Resolution 1377 (2004) adopted in April 2004 welcomed Albania’s progress since
2001 towards a functioning pluralist democracy and a state governed
by the rule of law and respect for human rights. The Assembly concluded
that, “the monitoring procedure should remain open until the Albanian
authorities achieve further progress in the compliance with general
obligations and specific commitments resulting from Council of Europe
membership, notably to demonstrate tangible achievements in preventing
and fighting corruption and organised crime, to improve their record
in the implementation of legislation and to carry out elections
in full compliance with international standards”.
3. The Assembly welcomes the fact that the July 2005 elections
marked the first peaceful and smooth transfer of power in Albania
since the fall of communism and the first parliamentary elections
in 1991: a new government formed by the Democratic Party and smaller
parties took over from the previous Socialist Party government and
was sworn into office on 11 September 2005.
4. However, Albanian political life is plagued by confrontation
and obstructionism. The poor political climate is delaying reforms,
in particular in the field of election legislation and the media,
which are urgently required in view of the forthcoming local elections
scheduled for February 2007. A bi-partisan agreement reached on
30 August 2006 with international assistance was warmly welcomed
but has yet to be implemented.
5. Albania has good and improving relations with its neighbours
and has maintained its open and constructive policy towards Kosovo,
supporting settlement of its final status within the framework of
its integration with the European Union. Albania has also maintained
stable economic growth and poverty is progressively decreasing.
6. The Assembly congratulates Albania on the signing of the Stabilisation
and Association Agreement with the European Union in June 2006 and
notes that the political requirements for European Union accession largely
coincide with Albania’s commitments and obligations towards the
Council of Europe in the field of democracy, the rule of law and
human rights.
7. With regard to Albania’s obligations in respect of democracy:
7.1 the Assembly recalls that the
International Election Observation Mission, including the Ad hoc Committee
of the Bureau, concluded that the parliamentary elections in Albania
on 3 July 2005, although conducted on the basis of an improved electoral
code, “complied only partially with international commitments and
standards for democratic elections”. In this regard:
7.1.1 the Assembly believes that the
Albanian authorities should in particular continue to improve the
accuracy of civil registers and voters’ lists and develop a uniform
system of addresses for buildings; new identity documents should
be introduced; the excessive role of political parties in electoral
procedures should be limited and the election administration should be
reviewed;
7.1.2 it welcomes the fact that all political parties have agreed
to address the controversy that has arisen from the scope for tactical
voting in the current election laws. It asks them to resolve this
dispute through the current electoral reform process with the assistance
of international experts including the European Commission for Democracy
through Law (Venice Commission), and to show serious commitment
to accelerating electoral reform on other issues in order to implement
their own agreement of 30 August 2006 and the remaining recommendations
made by international observers;
7.2 the Assembly welcomes the fact that the parliament has
continued to reinforce its influence and role and, despite disagreements
about voting procedures, has made steady improvements in its technical
operation;
7.3 it regrets that relations between the political parties
have remained polarised and fraught, thus slowing parliamentary
work on reform. All the political parties share responsibility for
strengthening the powers and role of the parliament. Major reforms
require broad political consensus which should be reached in parliament;
7.4 the Assembly notes that, according to the Congress of
Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, “despite
the expressed intention of an ambitious reform programme announced
by the current government, measured by reference to legislation
actually passed, little has happened so far to reform the system
of local and regional government in Albania”. In this connection,
the Assembly:
7.4.1 welcomes the
measures already taken by the government: the increase in unconditional grants
for local government; the transfer to local government of responsibility
for the collection and administration of taxes for small businesses
as well as for the administration of sewage systems and water supplies;
and the transfer of state-owned property to local government;
7.4.2 urges the Albanian authorities to implement the recommendations
made by the Congress, in particular as regards: the current state
of local and regional self-government and their compliance with
the European Charter of Local Self-Government (ETS No. 122); regional self-government;
the financial autonomy of local and regional authorities; the administrative supervision
of local authorities; the electoral system and forthcoming local
elections;
7.4.3 attaches great importance to the forthcoming local elections
which it considers a major test for the capacity of the Albanian
authorities to organise free and fair elections. Given the failure
to adopt comprehensive electoral reform in line with recommendations
made previously by international observers, some priority issues
must be addressed in time for the local elections, such as recommendations
regarding the voters’ lists, election administration, vote counting, tabulation
and appeals procedures.
8. With regard to Albania’s obligation to ensure respect for
the rule of law:
8.1 the Assembly
welcomes the measures already taken to establish and enforce a zero-tolerance policy
in the fight against organised crime, trafficking and corruption.
It notes in particular that:
8.1.1 in
compliance with its
Resolution
1377 (2004), the law on the Court of Serious Crime was amended to
limit the court’s jurisdiction to cases of organised crime and trafficking
in human beings. The Court of Serious Crime and the Serious Crimes
Prosecutor’s Office have proved to be strong weapons in the fight
against organised crime;
8.1.2 the government has achieved significant results in the
fight against organised crime, with charges having been brought
against more than 33 criminal groups involving hundreds of people;
8.1.3 regarding corruption, a large number of public officials
are under investigation, are being prosecuted or have been convicted
on corruption charges. The auditing and controlling authorities
have intensified their activity with respect to the use of public
funds in public administration;
8.2 while reforms in public administration to fight corruption
and reduce costs are to be welcomed, the Assembly urges the Albanian
authorities fully to respect the law on civil service when hiring
and dismissing staff. The effectiveness of the public administration
should be further strengthened and this cannot be achieved by simply
reducing or replacing staff. It is also necessary to increase the professionalism
of senior civil servants and to put an end to political appointments;
8.3 the Assembly regrets that efforts to make rapid progress
in the fight against corruption have sometimes resulted in some
poorly drafted laws, a number of which have been subsequently declared unconstitutional.
Legislation should be carefully prepared in full respect of the
principles of the rule of law and better use should be made of both
domestic and international expert advice, including that from the Council
of Europe. In the context of its fight against corruption, government
and parliament should also ensure full respect for independent and
constitutionally guaranteed institutions, such as that of the general
prosecutor and the High Council of Justice;
8.4 the Assembly notes that efforts to improve implementation
of legislation are ongoing, but tangible results have yet to be
achieved. Effective implementation could be further strengthened
by ensuring increased transparency in the drafting of laws;
8.5 it welcomes progress in the execution of final court decisions
as a result of a reorganisation of the bailiff service and improvements
in the functioning of the judiciary and welcomes the fact that new
judges are appointed only if they are graduates of the Magistrates’
School;
8.6 the Assembly urges the Albanian authorities to further
pursue judicial reform. In particular they should:
8.6.1 take into account Council of
Europe expert advice on draft amendments to the law on the organisation
of the judiciary in order to strengthen the independence and professionalism
of judges;
8.6.2 address the problem of remuneration of judges and increase
the budget for the judiciary;
8.6.3 adopt legislation on the status, recruitment, competencies
and remuneration of courts’ administrative staff;
8.6.4 continue the training of judges and prosecutors through
the Magistrates’ School and provide for competitive examinations
for new appointments;
8.6.5 take into account Council of Europe expert advice on the
law on the organisation of the prosecutor’s office and introduce
a system for the evaluation of prosecutors as was recently done for
judges.
9. With regard to Albania’s obligation to ensure respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms:
9.1 the Assembly welcomes the decision of the Albanian Government,
in July 2006, to authorise the publication of two reports by the
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and urges the Albanian authorities
to:
9.1.1 enforce speedily the recommendations
contained in these and previous reports and take resolute measures
to put an end to ill-treatment in police custody by increasing the effectiveness
of relevant investigations and bringing to justice and punishing
those responsible;
9.1.2 complete effectively the transfer of responsibility for
pre-trial detention centres to the Ministry of Justice, improve
prison conditions and build new detention centres;
9.2 the Assembly welcomes measures taken to increase the transparency
of the government’s work and supports the ongoing efforts to improve
the implementation of laws on access to information and raise citizens’
awareness of their rights. It welcomes the adoption of the new Code
of Ethics for journalists and the establishment of the Council on
Media Ethics, as well as the adoption by the government of a policy
not to use the existing libel law as a means of intimidating journalists;
9.3 the Assembly asks the Albanian authorities to:
9.3.1 adopt without further delay
amendments to the Criminal and Civil Codes to decriminalise libel
and reform civil defamation provisions with Council of Europe assistance
;
9.3.2 improve the regulations on the ownership and financing
of media outlets;
9.4 it welcomes the fact that, following a confrontation over
legislative amendments with respect to the composition of the two
regulatory and supervisory bodies of the electronic media, a consensus
was reached between the majority and the opposition in early August
2006 to request Council of Europe expert assistance regarding the
development of legislative reform in the media;
9.5 the Assembly asks the Albanian authorities to:
9.5.1 review media legislation in
accordance with the comments to be made by Council of Europe experts;
9.5.2 ensure that any future draft legislation regarding media
reform be thoroughly prepared in a transparent manner following
consultation with media representatives;
9.5.3 complete the change of the Albanian television channel
from a state-controlled service into a public broadcasting service;
9.6 the Assembly asks the Albanian authorities to speed up
the process of registration and restitution of property confiscated
under the communist regime, as well as the granting of compensation
in compliance with the constitutional guarantee of the right to
property and Article 1 of the Protocol to the Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ETS No. 9);
9.7 it welcomes the recent signing of memoranda of understanding
between central and local authorities in regions where minorities
are concentrated;
9.8 the Assembly asks the Albanian authorities to:
9.8.1 work for a nationwide census
on minority affiliation without further delay;
9.8.2 strengthen the role of the newly established State Committee
on Minorities by establishing clear rules and guidelines for its
work;
9.8.3 ensure effective implementation of the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities (ETS No. 157) by improving
existing legislation and adopting specific bylaws to ensure education
in and the use of minority languages in dealings with the authorities
and the use of traditional local geographical names;
9.8.4 continue their efforts to implement the recommendations
made in the 2004 report of the European Commission against Racism
and Intolerance (ECRI), especially as regards the situation of Roma
and Egyptians;
9.9 noting that domestic violence against women and the protection
of children’s rights remain of serious concern, the Assembly asks
the Albanian authorities to:
9.9.1 implement
effectively a law on the prevention of domestic violence;
9.9.2 promote the active participation of women in the political
life of the country;
9.9.3 implement rapidly measures to effectively tackle the problems
of school attendance, child labour and unregistered children;
9.10 the Assembly encourages the Albanian authorities to counter
all forms of discrimination;
9.11 it welcomes the significant decrease in trafficking in
human beings over recent years as well as agreements recently signed
or planned with neighbouring countries on the readmission of trafficked children;
9.12 the Assembly asks the Albanian authorities to further
improve effective prosecution of traffickers and assistance to the
victims of trafficking.
10. With regard to the formal commitments entered into upon Albania’s
accession to the Council of Europe, the Assembly reiterates its
request to the Albanian authorities to sign and ratify the European
Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ETS No. 148) as soon
as possible.
11. Recognising the progress achieved so far, the Assembly resolves
to pursue its monitoring on the honouring of obligations and commitments
by Albania until measures taken or planned in the fields mentioned in
this resolution have produced tangible results.
