The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has highlighted the “alarming failure” of the Albanian government to meet the minimum food and housing needs of migrants and asylum seekers in the country. The Monitor said that refugees in the country are suffering from “alarming state negligence, shortages of food, inadequate housing, and violence.”
In a statement published yesterday, they reminded the authorities that their ongoing failure to meet these basic obligations is a violation of Albania’s international responsibilities, including the 1951 Refugee Convention that Albania acceded to.
“The Albanian government is obliged to ensure the wellbeing and safety of all people in its custody, particularly those most vulnerable during the Coronavirus pandemic”, the statement reads.
Euro-Med Monitor said that the government provides around EUR 2.60 (300 lek) per day for each migrant. This is “essentially insufficient for barebone subsistence” and has resulted in many turning to begging or falling “prey to gang violence.”
The statement reports that reception centres in the country are underfunded, overcrowded and understaffed. Medical care is inadequate and is provided by one nurse who is contracted by the UNHRC. Euro-Med Monitor adds that the centres are unhygienic and that food is often inedible.
Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities have closed reception centres to newcomers which have left many stranded without shelter. There are potentially hundreds of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa, stranded in dire conditions in Tirana- either inside a reception centre or on the street.
Euro-Med Monitor has called on the Albanian government to immediately undertake the necessary measures to provide adequate housing and sufficient food supplies to refugees. They should also ensure that they are safe from gang violence and other risks to their wellbeing.
In 2018, there were 4836 North African and Middle Eastern refugees in Albania. Thousands more have used the country as a transit to the borders of Western Europe. Between 2019 and 2020, approximately 11,344 crossings were intercepted by the Albanian state police.
Exit has previously reported on the presence of refugees in Albania, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Video footage surfaced of members of the armed forces giving food to homeless migrants on the streets of the capital. Other local media also reported on the plight of displaced persons in the country, highlighting the lack of food and prevalence of gang violence.
Questions have been sent to the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the EU Delegation in Tirana, and a spokesperson for Prime Minister Edi Rama.
