UN: Corruption, Policy Intervention, Key Concerns for Albania

The independence and integrity of the judiciary; lack of independent media; and corruption at all levels of governance, law enforcement and local institutions continued to be the main problems in Albania during the past year, according to the US State Department for Human Rights report published Monday.

The UN underlines that there have been no significant changes in the human rights situation in Albania during 2023. The report reportedly took reliable steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights violations.

Regarding corruption, the State Department notes that the Albanian government in general effectively implemented legislation that envisions criminal penalties for corruption by public officials and prohibits individuals with criminal penalties from serving as mayors, MPs or other government or state positions, however, says there were numerous reports of corruption in the government.

“Corruption was present at all branches and levels of governance, including through public procurements and public-private partnerships, although authorities made progress during the year in fighting corruption and towards ending impunity”, the report said.

The UN- names high-level arrests by SPAK and penalties for corruption cases, including penalties for corruption and abuse of office by former Environment Minister Lefter Coca and his former Secretary General Alqi Blako.

“In July The SPAK issued an international warrant for former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister (and Socialist Party deputy) Arben Ahmetaj. He left the country after parliament accepted SPAK's request for the removal of Ahmetaj's immunity so that he could be arrested on charges of corruption, money laundering and hiding property”, the report said.

The case of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha is also mentioned in the report.

In October, the SPAK announced it was formally investigating former Prime Minister Sali Berisha for passive corruption regarding a land deal his son-in-law benefited about $5m from. The SPAK arrested Berisha's son-in-law, ordered Berisha to appear regularly in the judicial police and prevented him from leaving the country”, the UN says.

The High Inspectorate of the Declaration of Riches and Conflict of Interest also announced that by August it had referred six new cases for prosecution involving one MP, a prosecutor, three directors at government agencies and an administrator at a government company. The charges included refusing to declare property, hiding property, or forging claims of property; Money laundering; and tax evasion.

Speaking of corruption in police, the report says it continued to be a problem, especially among police officers in the first line.

Independence of the judiciary

The “Although the constitution envisions an independent judiciary, political pressure, intimidation, corruption and limited resources prevented the judiciary from functioning fully, independently and efficiently”, the State Department report said.

The UN further adds that the implementation of the duty process for judges and prosecutors continued in order to expel from the system those who had inexplicable assets, or links to organised crime.

The people's “Avocat estimated that the judiciary had made progress towards establishing a more independent system, but added that more resources were needed”, the report says.

According to the report, the judicial system is becoming more independent thanks to the SPAK's process of property and actions, however, it is noted that citizens have complained about lack of transparency in investigations, considerable procrastination of processes and unfair judicial decisions.

The State Department says that although the constitution and law provide the right to a fair and public trial, and that the judiciary in general applied this right...

Albania's “Helsinki Committee noted that the congested issues collected, the vacant countries in the judiciary and the systematic lack of efficiency, undermined citizens' confidence in the justice system”, the report said.

Most of the complaints by citizens concerned lack of response from government bodies to their concerns, violations of the regular legal process, unjust judgments and sentences.

The report cited concerns about administrative trials regarding the indictment filed by the Gulistan Foundation for the closure of the girls' high school “Mehmet Akif Ersoy” and the children's garden “Zubeyde Hanim” in 2022.

The UN says the Albanian Helsinki Committee noted that the “pals were not treated equally during the trial” and that it had questioned about the justice's impartiality.

Incorruptities in Last Elections

KAS refers to the ODIHR report, under which the May 14th local elections, “were generally well managed, competitive and peaceful”, but that they were accompanied by problems, including

“Raport also noted misuse of administrative resources at the central and local level, complaints of pressure on public sector and voters employees, as well as voting purchase reports”, the State Department says.

The UN continues further than the <x0 rules for media coverage of the campaign strongly favoured the main parties” and that the media's continued use of campaign materials prepared by parties in the “news broadcasts constituted a comprehensive and objective reflection of campaign”.

The final report of the ODIHR Election Monitoring Mission for the May elections identified cases of misuse of state resources at the central and local level, allegations of pressure on public sector and voters employees, as well as allegations of vote buying”, the report said.

The UN also refers to the findings of the Albanian Helsinki Committee, as under which it had observed “voter intimidation, political parties monitoring the activities of voters” and the lack of media reflection of the campaign of small parties.

Concerns About Media Status

The report expresses concern about the media situation, noting that the “independent media organisations and professional journalists claimed the government, political parties, businesses and criminal groups tried to influence the media in inappropriate and nontransparent ways”.

“Pati reliable reports that senior media representatives used their media to blackmail businesses by threatening them with negative media coverage. Political pressure, corruption and lack of funds limited the independence of the written media, and journalists reportedly practiced autocepressure”, the report said.

The State Department says the lack of regular labour contracts reduced journalists' independence and contributed to the reporting bias.

The UN cites the delays in payments to journalists in many media, “including at least eight television stations, in some cases up to five months”, referring to the Union of Albanian Journalists.

According to the report, financial problems forced some journalists to rely more on external sources of income, questioning their independence and integrity of reporting.

Although citizens were free to criticise the open government, including in traditional and social media, The UN notes concerns that the government's open <x0-creaticity could have negative”.

The Albanian Institute of Political Studies reported that individuals publicly criticised the government and key politicians faced slanderous campaigns from government supporters and political leaders”, the report says.

But according to the report, politicians used media known to spread false news about their rivals and critics and that political and business interests pressured journalists.

The report mentions several cases of violence and intimidation against journalists, including Elvis Hill of Television Report TV and his wife, who were attacked in Lezha, after Hila published a report in which one of the perpetrators of the attack was released.

The report also lists the shooting on Top Channel television, where a security guard lost his life.

Various organisations, according to the report, have claimed that in the past two years at<x0).Providing ownership in televisions resulted in more favourable government coverage”.

The UN also says that after ABC News television changed ownership, there were reports that programmes conducted by government journalists were closed and those journalists left the station.

Another example is public television, Albanian Radio Television, where the report reportedly after the change of top leaders, some media reports said unjustified downloads were made.

The report also says that according to reports, top private media managers eye.net monitored the communications of journalists and editors electronically to ensure that they respected the owners' political tendencies.

The Gaztar Union also expressed concern about adding indictments against journalists.

By October, there had been 12 cases of slander against journalists. / VOA