Tirana, 12 April 2024 – A wide network of children and youth rights organizations, under the umbrella of the Human Rights House in Albania, led by CRCA Albania, submitted today the report on the 4th cycle of the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR), while the authorities must submit the state report on the situation of human rights within August this year.
The report was prepared by the Child Rights Centre Albania (CRCA / ECPAT Albania), iSIGURT.al – National Platform for Safer Internet, the Albanian Coalition for Education (ACE), the Albanian National Youth Network (ANYN) and PINK Embassy Albania.
The report focuses on the main concerns related to the protection and respect of the rights of children and youth in Albania during the last 4 years. The most concerning facts relate to high levels of poverty among children and youth, as well as the lack of a national programme to address persistent and historic poverty passed from one generation to the other. Among other major concerns raised by the report are related to access to public education, violence against children and young people, especially in cyberspace, migration of young people from Albania, unaccompanied foreign children, as well as lack of access to justice due to the justice reform and the lack of proper implementation of the free legal aid scheme etc.
This is the fourth time that Albania reports to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The purpose of the reporting is for the international community to closely observe the human rights situation in each UN member state while recommending issues of concern that need addressed. The official report of Albania will be considered in November 2024, at the 47th session of the UPR Working Group of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.