Government efforts to implement the law on the Rights and Protection of the Child is a step forward to improve children’s lives in Albania.

Tirana -16 October, 2017-  The new Law on Child Right and Protection entered in power in June 2017, is now at the table of the new Ministry of Health and Social Protection and is supported by UNICEF, as part of the EC funded IPA-II project. 

The approval of “The law On the Rights and Protection of the Child” in February 2017 by the Albanian government represents a major advancement for the rights of the children in the country but more needs to be done to make the law work for all children.

The Ministry of Health and social protection and the State Agency for the Rights and Protection of the Child are developing proposals for each of the by-laws required in the law with the technical assistance of national and international development partners such us Tirana Legal Assistance, Terre des Hommes, Save the Children and OSCE – organisations with a long standing experience in the protection of the rights of the child in Albania and world-wide.

The new Law on the Child Rights addresses many of the most serious challenges facing children in Albania and recognizes the child as a rights-holder and determines that parents, the government and the society have a shared responsibility to care for and protect every child. Every affirmed right of the child now corresponds to specific obligations of the public authorities, which will make the implementation, as well as monitoring of respective accountabilities, more efficient.

Measures undertaken by the State will have limited or no impact if individuals, such as parents, care takers, teachers, social workers, child protection workers and organizations such as schools, children’s institutions, NGO’s, Ombudsperson’s office and Parliament do not fully respect and implement children’s rights. The implementation of the Law can only be successful if there is a shared responsibility of the State and all other relevant actors.

UNICEF in Albania, thanks to EU funds will continue to provide the technical support to the government and to ensure the alignment of the law with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.