Tirana, March 11, 2019 – Through this public statement, the Child Rights Centre Albania (CRCA) requires expressing its deep indignation on the inappropriate treatment and confrontation of children with institutional violence exercised by enforcement officers in Tirana.
This morning, judicial execution, accompanied by many state police forces, attempted to enter violently into a building in Tirana. According to media reports, the building is an incorrectly built addition and that the land where it was built belongs to the landowner.
Two families that living in this building have refused to enforce the court decision, which requires the release of this environment where they still live and have not allowed the execution of enforcement officers in the interior of their homes. The media report showed on-line the confrontation, where executioners punched with pickaxe and heavy metal tools, trying to force themselves inside the yard, while on the other hand, family members along with their children , not to allow it to collapse, were seen standing behind the door.
Enforcement officers for over 20 minutes tried to open the door forcibly. They were allowed by the police to develop all this terrible scene of institutional violence, even though behind the door were family members, including their little children. Impossibly, state police officers were showed to prevent citizens, including children, from defending the families concerned, but they have never been seen to stop the violent acts of execution enforcement officers. This unequal treatment of both parties has placed state police in a position where it neglects state violence exercised by enforcement officers when it clearly risked the lives of children.
Since 1992, Albania has been a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In this context, the Albanian Government and all its institutions are obliged to take all measures to protect children from any form of violence (Article 19), while Article 37 highlights: “No child shall subject to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. In addition, the Albanian Government has obligations to protect children from violence, according to the provisions of the Law on the Rights and Protection of Children (2017).
In our opinion, the behaviour of enforcement officers has developed in open opposition to the spirit and requirements of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Law on the Rights of the Child, as it has not only developed under the conditions of emotional violence but, moreover, has taken the form of torture, treating the children in a humiliating and inhuman way!
The ugly scene where 4-5 young men and boys, forcibly knock on the door of the house, kicks, punches and other metal tools, is not only institutional violence against children residing in the house, they believe it is their entire childhood life, but it is also a show of violence against us as individuals and society. In our conviction, the State Police had and still has all means of communication and negotiation available to family members and could have prevented the practice of violence against small children in time. This neglect in our conviction is unwarranted!
From the above, CRCA requires from all the law enforcement agencies in Albania that the best interests of the child and the special protection are based on the law in the country. Enforcement of court decisions cannot be done if they seriously endanger the physical and emotional well-being of children. We require today to the State Police: Protect Children from Violence!