The Universal Periodic Review (UPR): A Catalyst for Roma Rights in Albania
By Siljana Hyseni, Roma Rights Expert, GFoD
As a marginalized group, the Roma minority, estimated to be between 8,301 and 120,000 people, continues to experience systemic discrimination, social exclusion, and poverty. These challenges have significantly impacted their access to education, healthcare, employment, and housing. On Friday, August 30, 2024, Albania will have its Universal Periodic Review Pre-session.
A Pre-session is a meeting on the human rights situation in a specific UN Member State. Pre-sessions provide national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) with an international platform through which they can inform the representatives of the recommending States about the human rights situation in the State under review (SuR) before the UPR. Second, they offer an opportunity for permanent missions to gather first-hand information on the human rights situation in the countries under review.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique mechanism of the Human Rights Council that calls for each UN Member State to undergo a peer review of its human rights records every 4.5 years. The UPR provides a platform for critical observation and recommendations, enabling Albania to align its policies with global human rights standards. This mechanism is particularly significant for the Roma community as it helps to spotlight critical issues, ensure government accountability, and promote inclusive development.
Roma civil society organizations (CSOs) play a significant role by submitting alternative reports or “shadow reports” during the UPR process. Before the actual review, CSOs, including Roma organizations, engage in national and regional consultations to provide their input on key issues affecting Roma communities. In the third (2019) UPR cycle, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) played a crucial role in advocating for the rights of the Roma community in Albania during Albania's Universal Periodic Review (UPR). By documenting the specific challenges Roma face in civil registration and access to nationality, the ERRC highlighted discriminatory practices and resource shortages that worsen these issues. Their advocacy efforts focused on pushing for legal reforms to protect the nationality rights of Roma children, providing direct legal support to unregistered children, and raising awareness about the structural and institutional discrimination that marginalizes the Roma community.
In the previous cycle, Albania received five recommendations focusing on Roma from Mexico, Brazil, Ghana, Syria and Costa Rica. The recommendations called for comprehensive legal reforms to align with international standards on nationality and non-discrimination. Key areas of concern included ensuring that all Roma, regardless of their documentation status, have access to essential rights such as education, healthcare, housing, and employment. Addressing structural discrimination and institutional racism against the Roma was also highlighted as vital for ensuring their equal access to these services.
The recommendations called for legal and administrative measures to prevent and address hate speech and hate crimes against migrants and the Roma community, and to guarantee their right to basic services such as health, education, and housing. Additionally, the report highlighted the importance of implementing targeted measures to improve access to personal identity documents and employment opportunities for minorities, particularly the Roma and Balkan-Egyptian communities. Efforts to regularize informal housing were urged, ensuring that such actions meet the specific housing needs of Roma and Egyptian communities, while intensifying initiatives to provide healthcare, education, and decent housing for these groups. Addressing institutional discrimination against Roma, especially ensuring that Roma women, girls, and infants have equal access to medical care, was also underscored. Albania was encouraged to simplify civil registration procedures, particularly for birth registration, to reduce the risk of statelessness to enhance cooperation with other countries to secure citizenship rights for children born abroad.
Since the 2019 UPR, little progress has been made. In 2024, Roma and Egyptians struggle to obtain birth certificates, leading to a heightened risk of statelessness. This issue is passed down through generations, as children born without proper documentation find it difficult to obtain identity documents and access essential services.
Civil society, particularly organizations representing marginalized groups like the Roma, plays a vital role in ensuring that their perspectives are included in United Nations processes. Roma CSOs play a crucial role in advocating for the rights of the Roma in Albania. By involving CSOs, particularly Roma and pro-Roma CSOs in the UPR process, the Albanian government can gain valuable insights into the perspectives of Roma communities and tailor its policies accordingly. The Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFoD) and ERGO Network and its members is instrumental in facilitating and supporting Roma civil society's involvement in these processes, helping to overcome access challenges and ensure that their voices are heard in shaping inclusive global policies.
We strongly encourage Member States to consider the specific recommendations outlined in our factsheet on Albania, as well as those from the Roma Active Albania and partners organizations submission. These recommendations are essential for addressing the urgent needs of marginalized communities, especially the Roma, and ensuring that their rights are upheld. By adopting these recommendations, Member States can significantly contribute to fostering social inclusion, equality, and justice for all.
Recommendations
- Addressing Systemic Discrimination
One of the most pressing issues for the Roma in Albania is systemic social exclusion, which severely limits their access to public services, housing, healthcare, and employment. For instance, recent data indicates that approximately 46% of Roma in Albania have experienced discrimination when seeking employment, and 24% have faced discrimination in the workplace. These figures underscore the need for stronger anti-discrimination laws and more effective enforcement mechanisms. Through the UPR process, the international community can recommend specific actions for Albania to improve the socio-economic status of the Roma.
- Enhancing Legal Awareness and Access to Justice
The Roma community in Albania also faces significant barriers in accessing justice, often due to a lack of documentation, awareness, and financial resources. Institutional discrimination within the justice system further exacerbates these challenges, limiting the Roma's ability to seek legal redress for human rights violations. The UPR process can highlight these issues and push for reforms that improve access to justice for the Roma.
Therefore, it is needed to conduct awareness campaigns to educate Roma communities about their legal rights, providing legal aid services, and eliminating institutional discrimination within law enforcement and judicial processes. Addressing these legal barriers is crucial for achieving SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) and ensuring that all citizens have equal access to justice.
- Promoting Access to Education and Employment
Educational attainment is limited, further restricting economic opportunities. Education and employment are two fundamental human rights that are often denied to the Roma in Albania. Many Roma children face significant barriers to accessing quality education, including poverty, discrimination, and cultural biases. This lack of educational opportunities perpetuates the cycle of poverty and limits their future prospects. For instance, the literacy rates among Roma is 65%, which is significantly lower than the national average 95%. Similarly, Roma adults often face discrimination in the labor market, leading to high rates of unemployment (62 percent for females and 51 for males) and underemployment. The UPR can play a vital role in addressing these challenges by encouraging the Albanian government to implement targeted measures to improve access to education and create job opportunities for Roma communities.
- Improving Living Conditions
The living conditions of the Roma in Albania are often substandard, with many families residing in informal settlements without access to basic needs like clean water, sanitation, and adequate housing. These poor living conditions contribute to a range of health problems and further marginalize the Roma community.
The UPR can help to address these issues by urging the Albanian government to invest in social housing, provide access to essential services, and implement policies that protect the rights of Roma communities to adequate housing. By improving the living conditions of the Roma, the UPR can contribute to their overall well-being and social inclusion.