Minors in Albanian Prisons, Council’s Response

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0879/02

Submission: Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Council

(3 April 2002)

Subject: Abuse of minors in Albanian prisons

Answer
(27 June 2002)

The Council has not been informed of specific cases of abuse of children in detention in Albania. However, all EU Member States are strong advocates for the fight against torture, and this issue is a priority of the EU’s human rights policy. The EU is determined to strengthen its international activities aimed at preventing and eliminating all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment worldwide.

To this end, the Council adopted in April 2001 the “EU Guidelines on the EU’s policy towards third countries on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” These guidelines, among other things, address the need for special protection for children, and provide the EU with a functional tool to be used in contacts with third countries and multilateral bodies active in the field of human rights, with the aim of supporting and reinforcing ongoing efforts to prevent and eliminate torture worldwide.

The Council is aware of the weaknesses in the Albanian judicial and prison system. This issue was raised, among other things, within the framework of the EU-Albania High-Level Steering Group, as mentioned in the Commission’s report on the work of this body. ⁽¹⁾The Albanian government, through its Action Plan for the negotiation period of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, which was approved in December 2001, has committed to continuing the reform of the prison system by fulfilling the legal requirements concerning the rights and treatment of prisoners, and by raising police ethics through the approval of a new police code of ethics, the establishment of a monitoring system for the behavior of police officers and each police department, and continuous training in the field of human rights. The Council expects that the result of these reforms will be an improvement in the situation of minors.

The regular dialogue conducted by the EU with Albania within the framework of the Stabilization and Association Process provides opportunities to verify the decisive continuation of the reforms to which the Albanian authorities have committed in the country’s path toward the common goal of European integration and the development of closer relations with the EU.