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Corruption and terrorism/ DASH Report for Albania: The weak judicial system hinders the implementation of the law at all levels

2023-12-01 11:51:00, Aktualitet CNA

Corruption and terrorism/ DASH Report for Albania: The weak judicial system

The State Department's report on the fight against corruption and terrorism in Albania is clarified.

According to the report, Albania is continuing its counter-terrorism efforts and has repatriated 13 nationals from al-Hol displaced persons camp in Syria and is engaging in the process of their reintegration and rehabilitation throughout the year.

The report further notes that corruption and barriers to information sharing between government agencies, insufficient coordination within agencies, and a weak judicial system continued to hamper Albania's law enforcement efforts at all levels, including those related to war. against terrorism.

DASH report

Albania continued its strong support for international counter-terrorism efforts in 2022, repatriating 13 of its nationals from al-Hol displaced persons camp in Syria and engaging in their reintegration and rehabilitation throughout the year. The country has adopted a national strategy against terrorism and violent extremism (CVE) until 2025 and is revising the CVE strategy. The threat of terrorism in Albania consists in the efforts of foreign terrorist organizations to radicalize Albanian youth.

Terrorist incidents for 2022:

There were no reported terrorist incidents in Albania in 2022. Legislation, Law Enforcement and Border Security: In Albania it is illegal to join a terrorist organization, offer and participate in terrorism-related training, provide material support (including funding) for a terrorist organization and participating in a foreign military.

The State Police Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) has worked closely with US agencies to align the Albanian government's CT efforts with US expertise and resources, ensuring that the Albanian government develops focused CT capabilities. The State Police Counterterrorism Unit received extensive training and equipment throughout the year from the State Department's Counterterrorism Assistance program.

The Special Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and Corruption has charged two people with incitement and propaganda in favor of the terrorist organization ISIS, based on the investigations carried out by the Anti-Terrorism Unit of the State Police. In December, the Special Court for Organized Crime and Corruption sentenced an Iranian national to 15 years in prison for preparing terrorist acts.

On May 28, Albania successfully repatriated 13 citizens from displaced camps in Syria. The Albanian government's CVE Center led the rehabilitation and reintegration of these individuals and coordinated the efforts of various ministries, international donors, members of civil society and non-governmental organizations to support these efforts. This was the second repatriation in a one-year period carried out by the Albanian authorities, for 38 repatriated women and children.

But corruption and obstacles to information sharing between government agencies, insufficient coordination within agencies, and a weak judicial system continued to hamper Albania's law enforcement efforts at all levels, including those related to the fight against terrorism. The implementation of deep reforms in the justice sector continued. Verification of Albania's 800 judges and prosecutors for corruption, competence and links to organized crime was 75% completed at the end of the year.

Albania has pledged to increase its border security and control efforts to stop terrorists, with the support of US experts and programs. Albanian law enforcement services cooperate extensively with INTERPOL and other international law enforcement bodies. Albania continues to work on the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 2396 regarding Advanced Passenger Information and Passenger Names data and established a Passenger Information Unit with the support of the United States. Albania supports a port security surveillance system to implement the requirements under the International Maritime Organization's International Ship and Port Security Code.

Against the Financing of Terrorism:

Albania is a member of MONEYVAL (Committee of Experts for the Evaluation of Measures Against Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism). Its FIU, the General Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering, is a member of the Egmont Group. Albania remained on the FATF "gray list" in 2022.

In 2022, the FATF reported that Albania took steps to improve its Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing regime, including finalizing real estate registration, completing a long-term project to reduce the informal economy, increasing focus and the efforts of the law enforcement authorities and the prosecution for the implementation of the entire range of seizure and confiscation measures, the adoption of an adequate legal framework for violations of the registration obligations of companies and non-profit organizations and the implementation of proportional and convincing sanctions against entities that do not have declared their beneficial owners in the register within the deadline. In its May follow-up report, Albania noted progress in addressing identified technical compliance gaps.

Against violent extremism:

The Government of Albania has a national CVE strategy until 2025 and has therefore drafted a new one. The National CVE Center coordinates and manages CVE programming among international donors and seeks to ensure that all ministries collaborate effectively and avoid duplication of efforts. The National CVE Center coordinated and managed the reception, rehabilitation and reintegration of all returned women and children. The National CVE Center has been sought out for advice from other countries because of its successes with reintegration.

The Embassy in Tirana supports CVE efforts with a wide range of assistance programs and diplomatic engagements, including local community groups that identify and mitigate the factors underlying violent extremism. The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, in close coordination with the National CVE Center, funds three organizations working on CVE issues: the Institute for Democracy and Mediation, the Women's Advice Line and Terre des Hommes.

The State Department oversaw the implementation of a sixth CVE grant to the Albanian Muslim Community, which involved engaging Islamic clergy with at-risk youth, their parents, and civic leaders to steer youth away from radicalization to violence, as well as informing them about democratic principles, human rights, civic engagement and tolerance.

International and Regional Cooperation:

Albania is a member of the Adriatic Council, the Council of Europe, NATO, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the OSCE, the Regional Cooperation Council for Southeast Europe, the United Nations and the International Center of Excellence for Countermeasures. Violent Extremism (Hedayah). In 2022, she continued to serve as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Albanian criminal justice officials regularly participated in various regional associations, conferences and other counter-terrorism information exchanges.