To: Mrs. Majlinda BREGU
General Secretary
Regional Cooperation Council
Dear Mrs. Bregu,
CRCA/ECPAT Albania, the largest and oldest organisation working for the protection of the rights of children and youth, is seriously concerned that the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), an organization with such a positive reputation, has completely forgotten absolutely the responsibility not to do harm towards children and young people in the digital space.
In the coming days you will host Prime ministers, ministers, businesses, and a large number of institutions at the 4th Digital Summit of the Western Balkan countries. We are seriously disappointed that in the previous summits as in the last one, to be held from 11-13 September in Podgorica, RCC neither raised the issue nor discussed how digitalization affects the protection or exposes children and young people to sexual exploitation, trafficking, hate and many other digital crimes!
Even though we believe that such Summits are important for the cooperation in the Western Balkans and the creation of a pan-Balkan digital market, we are all aware that this does not come without consequences, which mostly harm the most vulnerable: children, women and those belonging to minorities!
Only during last year, 107,000 incidents of sexual abuse and exploitation were reported against children in the Western Balkans (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children).Respectively, the highest number of reports were submitted from Serbia with 45,737 cases, followed by Albania with 23,426 cases, Northern Macedonia (8,939), Montenegro (6,784) and last Kosovo with 1,229 cases. As you can see the numbers are staggering!
Crimes in all forms of digital space, including sexual exploitation of children, hate crimes against women, girls and minorities, are increasing exponentially from year to year, becoming among the most serious concern for societies in the Balkan countries, and beyond. However, the lack of participation in the Summit discussions and in the agenda, on what should be the current and future digital architecture in the countries of the Western Balkans, of the victims of this space, creates the premises for it to become more insecure, more punitive, and perhaps even more criminal.
We publicly ask you and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), that the 4th Digital Summit of Western Balkans countries, as well as at any future summit, discuss the issues of risks, safety and security in the digital space for all vulnerable groups in WB!
We invite the Prime-Ministers of the Western Balkan countries to raise their voice for the protection, prevention and elimination of all the digital crimes against children, girls and women, minorities and other vulnerable groups, who live every day in a situation of insecurity.
We believe that you are still in time to make the concerns that come from the citizens of the Western Balkans part of the discussions at the 4th Digital Summit. We invite you to show leadership and without fear make this great concern part of the discussions of the Summit and of your work to advance cooperation in the Western Balkans.
On behalf of CRCA / ECPAT Albania
Altin Hazizaj
Executive Director