The Child Rights Centre in Albania (CRCA), a civil society organisation, has called on President Meta to intervene on the new Law on Youth, claiming it “openly violates the human rights protected by the Constitution” as well as international conventions ratified by Albania.
The law was approved by the Committee on Education and the Media on 15 October and was then approved in Parliament with 79 votes. Now it has been passed to the President for his final decree.
In an open letter to the President, the organisation claims that the law “promotes corruption and lack of accountability of public officials at local and central level”. They also add that it gives politicians the opportunity to take control of youth organisations and civil society at a national level, “setting a dangerous precedent for the violation of the basic principles of democracy”.
Another concern relates their assessment that enacting the law would deny certain rights to the youth, including free education, obtaining the Youth Card and access to other services.
According to the organisation, the law exhibits “fundamental deficiencies in its compliance” with both the EU and the Council of Europe acquis.
They call on the President to reverse the law, which would negatively impact the lives of over 680 thousand young people in Albania, according to them.
CRCA had previously submitted their own proposed draft law to parliament in January, which was ignored. It suggested the establishment of a Youth Ombudsman, a National Youth Coordinator Office, a youth quota of political representation and decision-making, and a higher budget for youth spending.
