Tirana, 22 February 2013 – The Children’s Human Rights Centre of Albania – CRCA, presented today to the Office of the Ombudsman the proposals for changes to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Albania. The legislative proposals that were presented in this document aspire to bring changes in specific aspects of a series of offenses committed against children.
The paper presented today by CRCA emphasizes the importance of building just criminal policies, but also eliminate all forms of sexual violence against children committed by adults (Articles 100-106), as well as to enhance the safety of children and the public that the state takes preventive measures against all pedophiles, in order to hinder committing other crimes other sexual crimes against children.
CRCA dedicated paramount importance to Article 117 in relation to child pornography. Convictions related to child pornography should not only be inured (sentence offenders up to 5 years), but in addition, all pornographic materials produced, regardless of the form or manner of distribution, should be seized and destroyed. According to CRCA, the establishment of a ‘Registry for Sexual Crimes’, looking up to Great Britain, is crucial to prevent any pedophile to work or have access to areas where there are children, as well as the notification of parents whether a person lives in a neighborhood where there are children.
Other changes are proposed with reference to Article 124/b to punish any individual who mistreats/violates children “by beating, torture, shaking, burning, stinging, biting, use of substances, threat, coercion, or child suffocation, by parents, sister, brother, grandfather, grandmother, legal guardian, relatives or any other person who has the responsibility to care for the child ” shall be punished with imprisonment of up to five years.
One of the main recommendations addressed in 2012 to the Albanian State party by the Committee on the Rights of Child of the UN, focused on the Criminal Code Reform essentially by strengthening the criminal policy, and austere the criminal sanctions of abuse, sale and child labor. In virtue of this document, CRCA supports the initiative of the Ombudsman who in February made an open call to the civil society to give its contribution to the improvement of the penal system of the Republic of Albania.