15 May 2020
The Gates of the National Centre for Asylum Seekers in Babrru, Tirana, (Vladimir Karaj, "Violence and Hunger Stalk: Refugees and Migrants in Albania," Balkan Insight, 6 May 2020, https://balkaninsight.com/2020/05/06/violence-and-hunger-stalk-refugees-and-migrants-in-albania/)
The numbers of migrants and refugees in Albania have risen in recent years. According to the Department of Border and Migration, 11,344 people were detained at the border between January 2019 and February 2020.
The Euro-Med Monitor called on the government of Albania ‘’to immediately undertake necessary measures to provide adequate housing and sufficient food supplies to refugees and migrants in its custody, in addition to ensuring their safety from gang violence.’’
The imposition of a curfew on 16 March has impacted undocumented migrants across the country. Refugee centres have been closed, and migrants and asylum seekers left outside, looking for food.
There were 876 confirmed cases of Covid-19 as of 13 May in the country.
On 4 March, the Albanian government announced the temporary release of around 600 prisoners for 3 months. This measure concerns inmates held for minor offences, as well as the elderly and individuals suffering from chronic diseases. There is an estimate of 5,500 prisoners in Albania, whose penitentiaries are overcrowded.
On 10 April, a group of more than 30 human rights organisations issued an open letter to the government protesting a plan to imprison individuals who disobey quarantine orders. The penal code was indeed amended on 16 April to impose two to eight years of jail time for rule-breakers.
19 inmates tested positive to Covid-19 on 20 April, and were isolated immediately. The Tirana penitentiary hospital had been dedicated exclusively to inmates who tested positive to the coronavirus.
- KPMG, "Government and institution measures in response to COVID-19", 11 May 2020, https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2020/04/albania-government-and-institution-measures-in-response-to-covid.html
- G. Erebara, "Albania to Free 600 Prisoners as Pandemic Precaution", Balkan Insight, 24 March 2020, https://balkaninsight.com/2020/03/24/albania-to-free-600-prisoners-as-pandemic-precaution/
- G. Erebara, "Albania’s Planned Jail Terms for Curfew Breakers Spark Protests," Balkan Insight, 10 April 2020, https://balkaninsight.com/2020/04/10/rights-organizations-protests-albanias-anti-covid-proposals/
- B. Koleka, "Albania To Impose 2-8 Year Jail Terms On Coronavirus Quarantine Rule-Breakers," Reuters, 16 April 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-albania-prison/albania-to-impose-2-8-year-jail-terms-on-coronavirus-quarantine-rule-breakers-idUSKBN21Y3BH
- V. Karaj, "Violence and Hunger Stalk Refugees and Migrants in Albania," Balkan Insight, 6 May 2020, https://balkaninsight.com/2020/05/06/violence-and-hunger-stalk-refugees-and-migrants-in-albania/
- Relief Web, "Albania Should End Refugees’ Suffering of Hunger and Violence," 10 May 2020, https://reliefweb.int/report/albania/albania-should-end-refugees-suffering-hunger-and-violence
- Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2019, Albania, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ALBANIA-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf
- A. E. Taylor, "Refugees in Balkans at Higher Risk from Coronavirus," Exit News, 23 March 2020, https://exit.al/en/2020/03/23/refugees-in-balkans-at-higher-risk-from-coronavirus/
- The Gates of the National Centre for Asylum Seekers in Babrru, Tirana, (Vladimir Karaj, "Violence and Hunger Stalk: Refugees and Migrants in Albania," Balkan Insight, 6 May 2020, https://balkaninsight.com/2020/05/06/violence-and-hunger-stalk-refugees-and-migrants-in-albania/)
Last updated: October 2016
IMMIGRATION AND DETENTION-RELATED STATISTICS
Total number of immigration detainees by year
Number of immigration detainees on a given day
Top nationalities of detainees
Number of persons granted alternatives to immigration detention
Number of detained asylum seekers
Number of detained unaccompanied minors
Number of detained accompanied minors
Number of detained stateless persons
Number of apprehensions of non-citizens
Immigration detainees as a percentage of total international migrant population
Estimated total immigration detention capacity
Number of dedicated long-term immigration detention centres
Estimated capacity of dedicated long-term immigration detention centres
Number of dedicated medium-term immigration detention centres
Number of immigration offices
Number of transit facilities
Number of criminal facilities
Number of ad hoc facilities
Number of persons removed/returned (voluntary returns and deportations)
Number of deportations/forced returns only
Percentage of persons removed in relation to total number of people placed in removal procedures
Estimated number of undocumented migrants
Refugee recognition rate
SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Remittances from the country
Detention for deterrence
Pew Global Attitudes Poll on Immigration
Immigration Index Score
Domestic Opinion Polls on Immigration
DOMESTIC LAWS AND POLICIES
Constitutional guarantees?
Additional legislation
Regulations, standards, guidelines
Immigration-status-related grounds
Non-immigration-status-related grounds providing for administrative detention in immigration legislation.
Does the country provide specific criminal penalties for immigration-related violations?
Grounds for criminal immigration-related detention/incarceration and maximum potential duration of incarceration
Has the country decriminalized immigration-related violations?
Maximum length for administrative immigration detention in law.
Longest recorded instance of immigration detention.
Maximum length of time in custody prior to issuance of a detention order
Average length of detention
Maximum length of detention for asylum-seekers
Maximum length of detention for persons detained upon arrival at ports of entry
Provision of basic procedural standards
Types of non-custodial measures
Impact of alternatives
Mandatory detention
Expedited/fast track removal
Re-entry ban
INTERNATIONAL LAW
International treaties
Ratification Year
2007
2003
2002
2002
Individual complaints procedure
Acceptance Year
ICCPR, First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966
2007
2007
CEDAW, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 1999
2003
2003
ICPED, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, declaration under article 31
2007
2007
Relevant recommendations issued by treaty bodies
Recommendation Year
Human Rights Committee
13. The Committee is concerned that the automatic detention until deportation of all persons entering the country irregularly, including minors, and the lack of adequate information and referral of asylum seekers among such persons to the asylum procedure, exposes persons in need of international protection to a high risk of refoulement. The Committee is also concerned at the poor living conditions in transit reception facilities for asylum seekers and refugees (arts. 6, 7, 9 and 10).
The State party should ensure proper implementation of pre-screening procedures at the border and inside the country in order to ensure that persons in need of international protection are identified and referred to the asylum procedure, regardless of whether or not they entered the country in an irregular manner. It should refrain from detaining asylum seekers on the basis of the manner of entry into the country. It should improve living conditions in transit reception facilities.
2013
2013
Regional legal instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
CPCSE, Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
2009
2009
ECPT, European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment
1996
1996
ECHR, Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (commonly known as the European Convention on Human Rights
1996
1996
Bilateral/multilateral agreements linked to readmission
Year in Force
Observation Date
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
International treaty reservations
Treaty bodies decisions on individual complaints
Regional treaty reservations
Regional judicial decisions on individual complaints
Recommendations issued by regional human rights mechanisms
Relevant recommendations by UN Special Procedures
INSTITUTIONAL INDICATORS
Description of foreign assistance
According to a EU Parliament question to the EU Commission (March 2013): During his visit to Albania in December 2011, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants expressed his concern about the closed detention centre in Kareç. The Kareç closed detention centre, which opened in 2010, was constructed primarily with funding from the European Union. The issues of accessibility, detention conditions, legal safeguards in law and practice and the treatment of detainees, which are explicitly mentioned in the UN Special Rapporteur’s report, are therefore particularly worrying.
The report mentions, in particular: the ‘bad road conditions, which seriously obstruct the enjoyment of detainees’ right to legal defence and independent monitoring by national and international bodies’; the centre’s infrastructure and organisation; the poor living and hygienic conditions, such as cold and humidity and the lack of outdoor facilities or activities, which recall those of ‘a mid‐ to high-security prison’; the internal regulations, which contain provisions allowing the presence of ‘minors’ in the centre; and the lack of adequate information in a language commonly spoken by detainees about their rights and the reasons for their detention.
Taking into account the readmission agreement between Albania and the EU, which entered into force on 1 May 2006 and presupposes full respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms, on what basis was this detention centre funded by the EU?
Did the Commission have any say in the architectural planning and internal regulation of the centre?
Is the Commission aware of the situation described above? If so, what steps has it taken to remedy the situation? If not, what concrete steps will it take now?
Federal or centralized governing system
Centralized or decentralized immigration authority
Custodial authority
Detention Facility Management
Formally designated detention estate?
Does NPM have capacity to receive complaints?
Do NGOs carry out visits?
NGO capacity to receive complaints?
Do NGOs publish reports on immigration detention?
Do parliamentary organs carry out visits?
Do parliamentary organs have capacity to receive complaints?
Do parliamentary organs publicly report on their detention findings?
Do internal inspection agencies (IIAs) carry out visits?
Do IIAs have capacity to receive complaints?
Do IIAs publicly report their findings from detention inspections?
Do international and/or regional bodies (IRBs) visit immigration-related detention facilities?
Do IRBs publicly report their findings from inspections?
Types of privatisation/outsourcing
Detention contractors and other non-state entities
Estimated annual budget for detention operations
Estimated annual budgets for particular detention-related activities
Estimated cost per detainees day (in USD)
Estimated annual budget for non-custodial measures (in USD)
Estimated costs of non-custodial measures (in USD)
Government Agencies
Prime Minister´s Office: http://www.kryeministria.al/en/
Ministry of Justice: http://www.drejtesia.gov.al (in Albanian)
Avokati i Popullit (Ombudsman): http://www.avokatipopullit.gov.al/en/rreth-nesh-0
International Organisations
UNHCR Albania: http://www.unhcr.org/albania.html
IOM Albania: http://www.albania.iom.int/index.php/en/
Media
Albanian Daily News: http://www.albaniannews.com/index.php
Tirana Times: http://www.tiranatimes.com/
NGOs and Research Institutions
Children’s Human Rights Centre of Albania (CRCA): http://www.crca.al/
Albanian Human Rights Group: http://www.ahrg-al.org
