Plenary Meeting of the International Consortium

The International Consortium (IC), the co-ordination group that includes Embassies, international missions and non-governmental organizations offering development assistance in the area of law enforcement and rule of law in Albania, held its annual meeting on 19 April 2011, on the topic  “Addressing the recommendations of European Commission opinion on Albania”.  The Minister of Justice Bujar Nishani the Acting Minister of Interior Avenir Peka, the Prosecutor General Ina Rama, and thanked the IC for contributing to the promotion of the rule of law in Albania and highlighted the importance of the IC’s continued commitment to improving the effectiveness of international assistance in the area of Justice and Home Affairs and pledged their continued cooperation. U.S Ambassador Alexander A. Arvizu, Head of EU Delegation, Ambassador Ettore Sequi, and OSCE PiA Ambassador Eugen Woolfarth, noted that, pursuant to the  of increasing transparency and accountability of the authorities in this sector, donors are assisting Albania in constructing, renovating and equipping judicial, penitentiary and police buildings as well as investing in people through training and capacity building programmes and IT assistance. They also underlined the importance of donor assistance and emphasized the Albanian government’s responsibility to appropriately utilize this assistance. They reaffirmed their commitment to implementing practical steps and programs to improve the justice sector in Albania. Minister Nishani, Acting Minister Peka and General Prosecutor Rama, offered a brief overview of the developments, initiatives, and challenges in the sector, underling the importance reforms in this sector play in preparing Albania for EU accession. They reiterated the Government’s commitment to remain a serious partner in all donor projects contributing to the strengthening of law enforcement agencies in Albania. The General Director of the Albanian State Police, Hysni Burgaj, noted that the Albanian Government has drafted and approved an action plan to ensure a more efficient approach to the implementation of the 12 EC recommendations. He added that the State Police is implementing another action plan to specifically address the recommendations that fall within the scope of police work. The IC Working groups’ presentations on topics critical to addressing key points of the Albanian Action Plan moderated by the OSCE Presence Deputy head of Mission, Dan Redford, included briefings on: Constitutional Immunity and Criminal Procedure Code Reform – the way forward to EU accession”; Investigation, identification and sequestration of assets deriving from criminal activity; Improvement of Professional and logistical capacities of Witness Protection Directorate; Strengthening the juvenile rights and reduction of detention time; Treatment of detainees with mental health problems in the penitentiary system; Role of ASP training in addressing recommendations of EC opinion for Albania; Improvement of management culture a key for success in implementing the philosophy of Community Policing; Inter Institutional Maritime Operations Centre (IMOC) - Cooperation, Financial Commitment and Metrics – the way forward and the use of Information Technology in supporting the EU accession goals. The meeting also included a discussion on future challenges in donor co-ordination within the sector, the role of the IC and the reorganization of its working groups. The 2011 annual meeting was co-funded by the Albanian State Police, Office of Prosecutor’s General and ICITAP - US Department of Justice.