Albania Delegation Speech at the High-Level Officials’ Meeting

Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025

Geneva 15 December 2025

Excellencies, Esteemed Representatives, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour to address this distinguished forum and present Albania’s progress in fulfilling the pledges undertaken at the Global Refugee Forum in 2023, while reaffirming our unwavering commitment to advancing the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees.

As a representative of the Government of Albania, I wish to extend our sincere appreciation to our international partners—the European Union, UNHCR, EUAA, FRONTEX, IOM, among others—whose persistent support and collaboration have been instrumental in strengthening Albania’s capacity to respond effectively to mixed movement flows. Their expertise and solidarity not only enhance our national efforts but also exemplify the spirit of shared responsibility that stays at the centre of the Global Compact on Refugees.

The Republic of Albania has initiated negotiations with the European Union, with a firm commitment to aligning national legislation with EU standards and the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, ensuring full respect for the principle of non-refoulement. Alongside reforms in international protection, broader legal adjustments are underway to reflect current needs.

The Albanian Government has taken important steps to strengthen and harmonize its asylum framework in line with EU accession commitments. These efforts are pursued in coordination with and supported by the aforementioned key international institutions, while continuing to implement the EU Strategy for the Western Balkans.

Since January 2025, the Government of Albania has benefited from the support of the EU4Migration Project, financed by the EU Delegation in Albania and jointly implemented by UNHCR and IOM. Among its key objectives are enhancing effective protection systems to improve the quality of the asylum process, decentralizing asylum procedures at the local level, and establishing an effective migration governance framework in line with the National Strategy on Migration (2024–2030) and its Action Plan (2024–2026).

Furthermore, supported by FRONTEX, EUAA, UNHCR, and IOM, the Government of Albania is currently adopting the National Contingency Plan (2026–2028) on mixed movement flows.

Since the 2019 and 2023 Global Refugee Forums, the Government of Albania has taken significant steps to strengthen its asylum system and uphold the rights of refugees and stateless persons, in line with our pathway to EU accession and our obligations under European and international legal frameworks.

Pledge Implementation Progress

In line with Albania’s pledge to decentralize asylum procedures, I am pleased to report that this initiative is now underway. With the support of UNHCR and our partners, two asylum caseworker positions have been established in the border areas of Gjirokastra and Korça, marking the first operational step toward bringing asylum services closer to these regions. This pilot initiative, implemented jointly by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and UNHCR under the EU4Migration Project, is expected to become fully operational in the near future, ensuring a more simplified, accessible, and responsive system for persons seeking international protection.

Albania continues to advance toward efficient and quality asylum procedures. We have undertaken significant legal and policy reforms to align our asylum legislation with EU standards and the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. With the support of international partners, continuous capacity-building initiatives for asylum authorities are being developed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to further improve the quality and consistency of decision-making.

Regarding statelessness, Albania adopted amendments to the Civil Status Law in June 2024, ensuring birth registration for children born to refugee and asylum-seeking parents. This milestone reflects our commitment to eliminate statelessness and guarantee access to rights and services for vulnerable groups.

With regard to the review and operationalization of the Statelessness Determination Procedure, significant progress has been made at the national level. Amendments to the Law on Foreigners have now incorporated clear provisions that guarantee the acquisition of stateless status, as well as the possibility for foreigners granted this status to obtain residence permits as stateless persons. With the aim of implementing these legal provisions, Instruction No. 87, dated 21 June 2023, has also been approved, concerning the documentation and procedure for the application, evaluation, approval, and rejection of requests for the declaration of stateless status.

Albania remains fully engaged in the regional pledge on statelessness, reaffirming our determination to resolve all known cases of statelessness and prevent any child from being born stateless, in line with the #IBelong campaign.

To conclude, I wish to assure you, distinguished participants, that these achievements demonstrate once again Albania’s firm commitment to the principles of solidarity and responsibility-sharing. We will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure that our asylum and statelessness frameworks are robust, inclusive, and aligned with European and international standards.

Thank you!