REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA OMBUDSMAN SPECIAL REPORT ON MINORITY RIGHTS IN ALBANIA Tirana, December 2014 1 CONTENT: 1. Introduction 2. Legal basis on minority rights guarantee 3. Framework Convention of Council of Europe for protection of national minorities 4. Some other data on minorities and other communities in Albania 5. Problems finded from Ombudsman inspections in main localities of minorities and other communities 6. Children rigts in minorities and other communities 7. European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages 8. Information on proposals and recomandations on the monority issues in Albania. 9. Conclusions and recomandations 2 1. Introduction From the very beggining of this report we would like to qoute the claim articulated in 1930 by the Permanent Chamber of International Justice, which states that: "The existence of a minority is a question of fact and not a matter of right, not a purely legal matter". In this sense, the existence of minorities in Albania is a historical and actuall reality, and therefore special attention is paid to concretize a good relationship, expressing tolerance, coexistence and understanding between members of the respective minorities and the rest of the population. This regard, cultivated in the mentality of the Albanian society, with its elements of diversity as an important part of ist cultural heritage, reflected a harmonious and tolerant coexistence, without the presence of ethnic, racial, or religious conflicts. With the establishment of the democracy in Albania, the treatment of minorities has taken a new dimension, a fact that is evident in the commitments the Albanian state has taken to this end. There are today in Albania two types of minorities, the national ethnic minorities, including the Greek minority, Macedonian minority and Serbian-Montenegrin minority, and the ethno-linguistic minorities, including the Vlach minority and the Roma minority. Besides this, the reality of our society recognizes "de facto" some other communities, different from the ethnic Albanian population, as the Bosnian community, the Egyptian community, or the Gorani community. In fact, the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, in the Article 20, refers only to the persons belonging to national minorities, which creates a debate on the extended recognition by the state of the category of ethno-linguistic minorities. The whole discussion in this regard is focused on two aspects: first, the legal notion the definition of the minority and second, the will of the state, formally expressed in the official recognition of certain communities living in the Republic of Albania, in reality being Albanian citizens but having in their lifestyle and heritage elements differing from those of the ethnic Albanian population. As for the judicial notion of setting of a definition on minorities, one can state that the existence of many international texts, but also of a number of international acts addressing this issue, do not provide any general definition of the notion of minority, including all minority groups. On the other hand, the international experience has shown that it is difficult to give a definition including all categories of minorities, because of the great diversity of minority groups and the objective difficulties to classify them homogeneously. This has also led to a lack of a general definition in international laws on minorities. However, the lack of this definition has not prevented different countries, such as Albania, to recognize certain minority categories based on indicators of objective and subjective nature of certain communities in our country. Objective elements are related to the existence, within a given country, of specific population groups who have stable ethnic, religious and linguistic characteristics. While subjective elements are associated with the will to preserve the special character of the group, a fact that avoids its assimilation. On this basis of assessment, which refers to a protocol of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of 1993, where an attempt is made to give a definition on minorities, there is established the fact that those groups who claim their differences, enjoy a special treatment while the assimilated groups remain outside this treatment. 3 The recognition of minorities stresses the need of their protection, through the affirmation of a variety of rights, granted to them in particular. As for the reality on these rights in Albania, the Constitution of the Republic of Albania has authorized in its Article 3 the pluralism, the national identity and the heritage, the principle of equality in front of the law and the non-discrimination, regardless of the individual in the respective minority. Furthermore, the Article 20, explicitly provides that persons belonging to national minorities exercise in full equality toward the law their rights and freedoms. They have the right to freely express, without prohibition or compulsion, their ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic belonging, as well as the right to preserve and develop them. The Constitution recognizes them the right to learn and be taught in their mother tongue, as well as to unite in organizations and associations to protect their interests and their identity. Albania's membership in numerous international organizations with their field of activity in the protection of human rights, as well as the ratification or signing of a significant number of international acts aiming the promotion and protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities, the ratification of the Framework Convention for Protection of National Minorities, show a serious institutional commitment. Since July 13th, 1995, Albania is a member of the Council of Europe, which shows this commitment. Positive developments have also been identified in meeting the requirements of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the whole process of the membership into the EU, while an important institutional step may be assessed the establishment of the State Minorities Committee1, as an central institution of consultative nature, under the Prime Minister. Actually, the Albanian society has set a positive balance in terms of the issue and respect for minority rights, ranking among the countries that are engaged in the fulfillment of international standards in this field. Practical implementation of the provisions of the basic acts, and the implementation of international acts, particularly the provisions of the Framework Convention of the Council of Europe for the Protection of National Minorities, directly affect the improvement of minority rights. But despite the national and international legal provisions in force, we are all aware that there is much to be done to ensure in practice the respect of human rights, the integration and social inclusion of minorities living in our country. In this regard, the role of the Ombudsman takes a special significance. In fact, the rights of minorities were not included for some time in the list of internationally recognized human rights. This situation has changed materially only over the past decade, while the emancipation of minority rights can not be regarded as finally resolved even today. A special attention is paid by us to the rights of Roma minority living in Albania, which is considered as an ethno-linguistic minority. A big part of the Roma population does not figure registered in the register of civil status, a more common phenomenon for people born after the 90s. The interventions of the Ombudsman concerning the rights of this minority have been constant over the years, but it should be highlighted that these recent years can be considered as the years in which the rights of this minority have taken priority in the work of the institution and they are treated in a multidimensional view. This activity concluded with several recommendations toward public administration bodies, at local and central level, as well as the preparation of a special report for the Parliament, about the problems of the Roma 1 This committee was set up based on the prevision made in the Decision of the Council of Ministers no.127 dated 11.03.2004. The Council of Ministers decided to establish this committee to further encourage the participation in the public life of persons belonging to national minorities, and to suggest measures for the exercise and protection of their rights and freedoms. 4 community in Albania. The vision of the institution of the Ombudsman has included an extensive and close cooperation with NGOs operating in our country, within the framework of the Roma rights. We judge that, besides the institutional impact, one of the most positive indicators achieved during these institutional interventions is the society and media awareness about the issues concerning today the Roma minority in Albania. The most significant action the Ombudsman has undertaken raising the awareness on the situation of this minority rights, has been the symolic housing for several weeks of some Roma families in the offices of our institution, in early 2012. Although seemingly a controversial move, it was the first act showing clearly the role of the institution, the ways it can pursue in protecting the rights of individuals belonging to minorities and the realistic view the treatment of problems of this minority should have. The application of principles of good governance plays a vital role in the inclusion of minorities in our society, but also in the protection of their rights and interests.