ALBANIAN COALITION FOR EDUCATION IN ALBANIA CONVINCED THE GOVERNMENT TO REVOKE THE DRAFT LAW ON YOUTH!

Tirana, 8 July 2019 – Parliamentary Committee on Education and Means of Public Information during the hearing session with civil society organisations and the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth decided to revoke the Draft Law on Youth in order to improve some of the articles that violated the Albanian Constitution as well were not in conformity with the international human rights acts ratified by our country.

Albanian Coalition for Education in cooperation with its partner organizations, National Youth Network, and CRCA / ECPAT Albania, had long appealed to all MPs in the Albanian Parliament and the Albanian Government to withdraw the draft law prepared by the government as an opportunity to create the space for reviewing it in collaboration with CSOs.

10 years ago, civil society organizations in cooperation with young people in the country required for the first time in Albania a Law on Youth. ACE, ANYN and CRCA / ECPAT Albania have been working intensively since 2015 with young people in 12 districts in the country to gather and address all the issues and priorities that the law should contain. This process was developed to ensure wider involvement of youth in drafting the bill.

While in January this year a group of deputies of the Albanian Parliament, dedicated for years on the advancement of youth rights, submitted to the Albanian Parliament their request for review and approval of the draft Law on Youth in Albania prepared by the best experts best of the field of ACE, ANYN and CRCA / ECPAT Albania. In parallel, the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth started drafting a Youth Law Project.

Time after time, ACE, in collaboration with ANYN and CRCA / ECPAT Albania, requested to the Albanian Parliament the organisation of the hearing sessions to present the comments on the draft-law “On Youth.” During the hearing session Coalition representatives, after a careful examination of the draft-law presented by the Albanian government, delivered a set of recommendations and urged to the deputies not to pass the draft-law that violate the Albanian Constitution articles 4, 9,10,11,13, does not represent youth needs and priorities, and is not in conformity with the International Human Rights Acts.

In the current state, the draft law violated the freedom of expression and organization, equality before the law, equal enjoyment of rights, etc.

MPs listened, welcomed all the concerns and demands of the representatives of ACE ANYN, and CRCA / ECPAT Albania, decided to revoke the draft law, and invited the Ministry of Education Sports and Youth, to reflect the amendments.

This collaboration among SCOs, parliamentarians showed that when all parties work without interferences of donor interests, the democracy work perfectly.

For more information: ACCE – acce[@]acce.al