Albanian parliament approves historical resolution in support of LGBTI rights

Tirana, May 7, 2015 - The Albanian Parliament approved tonight the Resolution "On Protection of Rights and Freedoms of persons belonging to the LGBT community in Albania", which was adopted with 75 votes in favour and only 2 against and 1 abstention. The approval of this resolution is a tremendous victory for the LGBT community since the adoption of the Law on Protection from Discrimination, in early 2010, as the Parliament had not passed many legislative or political initiatives in support of human rights of every LGBT individual in Albania.

The resolution was sponsored and supported by the Parliamentary Sub-committee on Human Rights with the support of MP Vasilika Hysi, a well-known human rights activist in Albania, as well as other well-known members of the Parliament, such as Pandeli Majko, Fatmir Xhafa and Gramoz Ruci. The resolution identifies the achievements that Albania has made during the last 5 years; the positive role that civil society has played in terms of public awareness and the role of independent institutions of human rights, in particular the Ombudsman.

While the recommendations of the Assembly resolution include:

• Formulation of a National Action Plan on the measures and for the protection of the rights of LGBT persons in Albania;
• Adoption of necessary legal changes proposed by the National Plan of Action for the protection of LGBT rights, part of the Roadmap on 5 priorities of Albania for the opening of EU membership negotiations;
• Approval of the legislative recommendations of the Ombudsman, for amendments to the Labor Code;
• Encouraging the Ministry of Education and Sports to train teaching staff for better protection of the rights of LGBT persons;
• Encouraging the Ombudsman, for monitoring the rights and freedoms of LGBT persons in Albania and propose new measures that guarantees their respect;
• Support for civil society organizations for their role in public awareness while encourages the Albanian Government to cooperate with them to prevent discrimination against the LGBT community.

Pink Embassy as one leading organisations working for the promotion and respect for the rights of every LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) person in Albania, welcomes this historic decision of the Assembly of Albania and encourages all MPs to join us next week in all the activities that are being implementing in 6 cities across Albania on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.