I would like to thank Director Maria Telalian for her inspiring address and to express Albania’s strong appreciation for ODIHR’s continued engagement across all aspects of its mandate.

Madam Director, Dear Maria,

The success of this year’s Warsaw Human Dimension Conference clearly demonstrated the enduring importance of this platform — a unique space for dialogue between States and civil society, where difficult issues are addressed openly and constructively. Albania fully supports the preservation and further strengthening of this forum, which remains vital for upholding the OSCE’s human dimension commitments and fostering mutual understanding.

We also wish to commend ODIHR’s professional work in election observation, which for Albania has consistently served as a valuable partner in improving our democratic standards and practices. The follow-up to ODIHR recommendations has been an essential part of our reform efforts and our broader democratic consolidation.

In this context, I would like to note that the Parliament of Albania has recently established two special parliamentary commissions, one on Electoral Reform and another on Territorial Reform, reaffirming our commitment to inclusive and consultative processes, and to benefiting from the expertise of ODIHR and the Venice Commission in this work.

We also value ODIHR’s broader contribution in areas such as combating hate crimes and promoting tolerance, which helps strengthen the resilience of our societies. In this context, we note ODIHR’s work in addressing antisemitism, including through the OSCE Annual Conference on Antisemitism, held in Helsinki this February, providing an important platform for sharing experiences and good practices. Albania highly values these efforts to counter and increase resilience to all forms of hatred in our societies.

Albania remains firmly committed to ODIHR’s mission of advancing democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, which are the foundations of peace and security in the OSCE area.

Thank you, Madam Chair.