Human Rights Council

56th session of the Human Rights Council

09 September  to 11 October 2024

Thank you Mr. President,

I would like to congratulate and thank the new Special Rapporteur for presenting his approach to the mandate and the areas of interest to be addressed during his tenure.

During 45 years of communist regime in Albania, people were convicted and prosecuted for political reasons thus violating their basic human rights.

Albania has undertaken several measures to improve its legal framework to guarantee the protection of human rights, including the right of the victim to know the truth, access to justice, investigation and documentation of crimes, effective remedies, and the preservation of historical memory for the forcible disappearances that took place during the Communist era.

In close cooperation with relevant international organizations, we have taken important steps to strengthen the legislative and institutional framework on missing persons during the period of the communist regime, to effectively investigate their location and the circumstances of their disappearance. Albania is committed to creating a single, harmonized, comprehensive, and publicly accessible database on missing persons.

In Albania, the Authority for Information on the Former State Security Documents is responsible for collecting, administrating, and processing the documents of the former State Security Service, and securing access to them for all, as well as educating the public and supporting the democratic values of justice, truth, reconciliation, and accountability.

Mr. President,

Albania remains committed to ensuring justice, truth, and reparation through the promotion of transparency and transitional justice and will continue its intensive work to document the crimes committed during the communist regime and the identification and recovery of the remains of victims who disappeared or were executed during that period.

We believe that by addressing the atrocities of the past and ensuring justice, we can prevent future violations and create a sustainable future.

Thank you.