Women, Peace, and Security and Preventing Violent Extremism
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PLANNING AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE PROJECT IN ALBANIA Women, Peace & Security (WPS) and Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE): Community Mapping Assessment of the Municipality of Librazhd JUNE 2019 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was PREPARED FOR THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, USAID CONTRACT NUMBER AID-182-C-12-00001, ALBANIA PLANNING AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE PROJECT (PLGP) TETRA TECH ARD CONTACT: ADRIENNE RAPHAEL SENIOR TECHNICAL ADVISOR/MANAGER [email protected] TETRA TECH ARD HOME OFFICE ADDRESS: TETRA TECH ARD 159 BANK STREET, SUITE 300 BURLINGTON, VT 05401 TEL: 802 495-0282, FAX 802 658-4247 WWW.TETRATECH.COM/INTDEV PLANNING AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE PROJECT IN ALBANIA WOMEN, PEACE & SECURITY (WPS) AND PREVENTING VIOLENT EXTREMISM (PVE): Community Mapping Assessment of the Municipality of Librazhd DISCLAIMER This report is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of Tetra Tech and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ii INTRODUCTION 1 GENERAL PROFILE 3 COMMUNITY PROFILE 5 ECONOMIC PROFILE 9 EDUCATION 13 HEALTH 14 MUNICIPAL PROFILE 16 LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFILE 20 RELIGIOUS PROFILE 22 SUMMARY OF FACTORS AFFECTING VIOLENT EXTREMISM 25 ALBANIA PLGP - COMMUNITY MAPPING ASSESSMENT OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF LIBRAZHD i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Community Mapping Assessment (hereafter referred to as ‘the assessment’) aims to understand opportunities, challenges, and power dynamics related to Women, Peace & Security (WPS) and Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) themes in the municipality of Librazhd1. In addition to analyses on the social and economic resources available (or lack thereof), this assessment focuses on gender needs/strengths, women’s access to services, and risks affecting women in the community. The assessment also identifies and explores the key factors affecting radicalization, recruitment, and violent extremism in Librazhd including the enabling environment, pull and push factors together with the socioeconomic, political, and cultural drivers based on USAID’s Guide to the Drivers of Violent Extremism.2 The assessment aims to better understand the local context, build relationships and credibility with local actors, and help to calibrate and adjust Planning and Local Government Project (PLGP’s) proposed Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) and Women, Peace & Security (WPS) activities while leveraging our expertise and on-the-ground knowledge of local governance in Albania. PLGP’s local-level activities have distinct but complementary goals: reduce the likelihood of women becoming participants in, or vulnerable to, VE activity; and increase women’s contributions to making communities more resilient to the VE risk. We focus on understanding the challenges and priorities of citizens, municipal officials, police, and other stakeholders in Librazhd. This assessment was conducted over a six-month period between January - June 2019 and utilizes a variety of tools and methodologies including desk research, face-to-face interviews, meetings, and focus groups organized at the central and local levels. PLGP interviewers and facilitators prompted respondents to discuss the same issues: community, civil society organizations (CSOs), local authorities, local institutions, including religious and police relations and interactions, and known factors that drive radicalization, recruitment, and violent extremism like relative deprivation3, disenfranchisement, crime, violence, and religious opportunism. 1 Municipality of Librazhd was selected by the National CVE Coordinator and USAID based on knowledge gathered of the violent extremism problem in Albania by law enforcement, think tanks, journalists, and the donor community. 2 USAID Guide to the Drivers of Violent Extremism, February 2009. 3 Relative deprivation emphasizes the individual experience of discontent when being deprived of something to which one believes oneself to be entitled. (Source: Wikipedia). Relative depravation and frustrated expectations are powerful drivers towards VE activity (Source: USAID Development Assistance and Counter-Extremism: A Guide to Programming, http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf docs/PNADT987.pdf). ALBANIA PLGP - COMMUNITY MAPPING ASSESSMENT OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF LIBRAZHD ii INTRODUCTION USAID’s ‘Planning and Local Governance Project’ in Albania has worked at both the national policy level and at the local level since 2012 to promote decentralized governance, territorial administrative reform, and to disseminate and institutionalize practical and effective methods and techniques for municipal management. PLGP is designed to contribute to USAID/Albania’s Development Objective #1 (DO#1), Strengthened Rule of Law and Improved Governance, as elaborated in the Albania Country Development Cooperation Strategy: 2011–2015. DO#1 supports the strengthening of democratic institutions in Albania by improving the judiciary and governance of health care, deepening the decentralization process, and rooting out corruption, with the goal of advancing democracy in the country while meeting key criteria for Albania’s accession to the European Union. On November 2018, the Project was extended to focus on Women, Peace, & Security (WPS) activities which fall under our current Component 3: Strengthen civic engagement to prevent violent extremism. Our Women, Peace, & Security (WPS) activities at the local-levels aim to reduce the likelihood of women becoming participants in, or vulnerable to, VE activity; and increase women’s contributions to making communities more resilient to the VE risk. Activities under our P/CVE and WPS Component are meant to bolster the positive effects of PLGP’s other components with an explicit focus on increasing awareness of and resilience to the drivers of radicalization in Albania, as analyzed and presented in 2015’s “Albanian National Strategy-Countering Violent Extremism” (hereafter referred to as ‘the Strategy’). Activities are designed to prevent violent extremism (PVE) focused at the local level, where the Government of Albania is shifting its strategy to reflect the prevention needs. In late 2018, a National Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security was finalized in Albania. PLGP’s experience in preventing and addressing drivers of violent extremism (VE) in our partner municipalities will support this action plan and the CVE Coordination Center in three major areas of assistance: community resiliency, women’s empowerment, and youth engagement. PLGP supports the GoA’s National Coordinator on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) in implementing the National Strategy-Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) promoting civic participation and empowering civil society to build community resilience. We work collaboratively with the Center and focus our efforts in the municipalities of Bulqiza, Cerrik, Diber, Kamza, Librazhd, and Pogradec - selected by the National CVE Coordinator and USAID based on knowledge gathered by law enforcement, think tanks, journalists, and the donor community. In close cooperation with the Office of National CVE Coordinator, the PLGP will support the implementation of the Strategy and National Action Plan for WPS, with activities focused at the local level. PLGP will help advance the Strategy and WPS Action Plan by piloting activities, learning from outcomes, and documenting lessons learned at the local level. ALBANIA PLGP - COMMUNITY MAPPING ASSESSMENT OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF LIBRAZHD 1 PLGP applied a variety of tools and methodologies to complete this assessment using both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Included methodologies are: desk research, interviews, meetings, and focus groups organized at the central and local levels. The data collection methods are listed as follows: ● Review and analysis of international and Albanian legal frameworks on WPS and P/CVE and available literature of the field. ● Review and analyses of national and local documents and strategies, including the Librazhd General Local Territorial Plan (2016-2030), Territorial Development Strategy (2016-2030), Librazhd Municipality Social Plan, Librazhd Mapping Assessment for Local Governance 2016 (prepared by STAR2), World Vision Action Plan 2018, municipal annual and mid-term budget, INSTAT statistics, data from Regional Employment Office and municipal tax department. ● Fifty face-to-face interviews with a total of 34 (14 women) local and national stakeholders. The respondents were mainly based in Librazhd. Additional interviews were conducted in Elbasan (CSOs working in Librazhd and the Regional Employment Office) and Tirana (representatives of the Albanian Muslim Community). Participants in the face to face interviews represent a broad spectrum of community actors such as the Mayor and municipal staff, religious leaders, local and national CSOs, local and regional police, local businesses, regional deconcentrated agencies (education and health) and Peace Corps Volunteers. ● Six Community Based Scorecard focus groups with 141 participants (62 women) from the administrative units of Hotolisht, Orenjë, Lunik, Dragostunjë, Qendër (Dorëz) and Librazhd city. The participants in the focus groups were representatives from civic society organizations, marginalized groups, active citizens, farmers, youth, heads of villages, etc. The document