In 2023, Albania hosted the Annual OSCE Conference on Hate Crimes in Southeast Europe, in which representatives of the State Police participated.
The Albanian police have created specialized units to deal with hate crimes, and have trained officers to identify and investigate these crimes more effectively. Albania’s Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination provides an institutional mechanism to handle complaints of discrimination and hatred, while also offers counselling and legal assistance to victims.
In 2023, collaborative contact has also been established with organizations representing vulnerable groups, such as the LGBTI, Roma and Egyptian communities, to support the exchange of information about criminality targeting vulnerable groups, as well as about the human rights situation and protection from discrimination of these communities.
ODIHR recognizes Albania's efforts to report information and statistics on hate crimes to ODIHR. Based on the official information, ODIHR observes that Albania's hate crime recording and statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes, while the numbers of officially recorded hate crimes are low. ODIHR also observes that Albania has not reported data on hate crimes recorded by the prosecution and the judiciary to ODIHR. In addition, ODIHR observes that Albania would benefit from raising awareness among and building the capacity of law enforcement and criminal justice officials to address hate crime.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States committed to collecting reliable data and statistics on hate crimes. Participating States have also committed to introducing or further developing professional training and capacity-building activities for law enforcement, prosecution, and judicial officials dealing with hate crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support Albania in meeting the relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as by providing further resources and tailored capacity-building assistance for police, prosecution, and judiciary.
🛈 Please note that the total number of incidents may be lower than the sum of incidents presented in the breakdown chart above, as some incidents involve multiple bias motivations.