According to a report of Amnesty International, over 20,000 Albanians have applied for asylum status in European Union countries during 2016. This fact is The number has decreased, however, in comparison with 2015.
Numbers from EUROSTAT show that 65,000 Albanians applied for asylum in 2015. 55,000 of them sought asylum in Germany. 99 percent of Albanian asylum requests have been refused from European countries. Germany considers Albania a safe country of origin. Albania is not a war-ridden country, so the government has decided not to accept asylum seekers.
Other reasons that contribute to a decrease in asylum requests are EU austerity measures on immigration. These measures were implemented after a series of terrorist attacks, the majority of which were caused by immigrants.
The report issued by Amnesty International for 2016 raises several other concerns.
Forced expulsion
A total of 80,000 people from Roma and Egyptian communities have been forcefully evicted from the Bregu i Lumit area in Tirana. The official reason was to protect the community from flooding threats, even though the area is scheduled for a large urban renewal project. Moreover, the authorities responsible didn’t provide them with proper alternative shelter, leaving them in a derelict army hanger during sub-zero temperatures.
Missing people
In the paragraph on missing people, Amnesty International is referring to the disappearance of Remzi Hoxha from 1995. Progress has not been made in the investigation process and those responsible have not been captured.
And even though the government started a collaboration with the International Commission on Missing Persons in order to help identify the human remains of those who disappeared under the communist regime, no progress has been made with the exhumations and 6,000 people remain missing.
