Albania: Treatment of homosexuals by society, police, judiciary and government; protection available to homosexuals who have been subject to ill-treatment; existence of establishments catering to homosexual clientele (2005 - 2006)
Legislation
Homosexuality has been legal in Albania since 1995 (IGLHRC Apr. 1995; GISH 20 June 2006; UK 12 Jan. 2006, para. 3.11.2). However, the Criminal Code of Albania contains two articles that punish homosexual acts exclusively if they involve forced intercourse with adults (Albania 27 Jan. 1995, Art. 102/a) or forced intercourse with minors or persons unable to protect themselves (ibid. Art. 116). In addition, the Criminal Code oultines punishment for the following "sexual or homosexual" acts: intercourse with minors (ibid., Art. 100), forced intercourse with minors between the ages of 14 and 18 (ibid., 101), intercourse with persons unable to protect themselves (ibid., Art. 103), and intercourse with extended family members or persons under one's custody (ibid., Art. 106). "Sexual or homosexual" intercourse is also punishable in Albania when committed under threat of the use of a weapon (ibid. Art. 104), through abuse of office (ibid. Art. 105) or in a public place (ibid. Art. 107).
The minimum legal age for consensual homosexual relations in Albania is 18 (GISH 20 June 2006; UK 12 Jan. 2006, para. 3.11.2), while the minimum legal age for consensual heterosexual relations is 14 (GISH Apr. 2006, 2). Same-sex partners are not legally recognized in Albania (ibid., 3; ILGA n.d.). According to the Executive Director of the Group for Social Integration (Grupi per Integrim Shoqeror, GISH), a Tirana-based human rights organization working to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Albania (GISH n.d.), all ministers of parliament voted against including the partnerships of LGBT persons in the family code (ibid. 20 June 2006), which entered into force in 2004 (OMCT Apr. 2005, 70).
The Albanian constitution does not explicity state that Albanian citizens are protected from ill-treatment based on sexual orientation (Albania 21 Oct. 1998; see also EU 9 Nov. 2005, 20). However, the Albanian Human Rights Group has drafted an anti-discrimination bill that would protect homosexuals from ill-treatment, and, with the support of other organizations, is lobbying for the bill to be passed by parliament (GISH 20 June 2006).
Homosexual community in Albania
According to the Executive Director of GISH, although homosexuality is legal in Albania, it is not tolerated in practice (ibid.). The executive director explained that GISH members have not publicly revealed their sexual orientation, and that GISH uses a foreign citizen as its public relations person (ibid.). The Director of the Tirana-based Human Rights in Democracy Centre (HRDC) agreed that homosexuals are reluctant to reveal their sexual orientation and therefore an openly homosexual community does not exist in Albania (HRDC 26 June 2006). Furthermore, the lesbian and gay communities do not mix, and organizations dealing with homosexual issues are mainly for gay men, not lesbians (ibid.).
The Director of the HRDC, as well as a professor of History at Indiana University who has written several books on Albania and travels regularly to Albania, were unaware of Albanian establishments catering to homosexual clientele (Professor of History 14 June 2006; HRDC 26 June 2006). The executive director of GISH explained that although there are no establishments, publications or bars geared exclusively to the homosexual community in Albania, there is one public park in Tirana that is known as a meeting place for homosexuals (GISH 20 June 2006). Homosexuals are also free to meet at the GISH office in Tirana (ibid.).
Treatment of homosexuals
The Professor of History at Indiana University commented that Albanian society is highly patriarchal and hostile to homosexuals (14 June 2006; see also OMCT Apr. 2005, 68). Similarly, the Director of HRDC and the Executive Director of GISH asserted that Albanian society has not accepted homosexuals and regards homosexuality as a sickness (HRDC 26 June 2006; GISH 20 June 2006). The United Kingdom Home Office also concluded in its 12 January 2006 Operational Guidance Note for Albania that there is societal discrimination against homosexual men in Albania (para. 3.11.8). The World Organisation Against Torture (Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture, OMCT) stated in its April 2005 report on Albania that racist groups and the police were violating the rights of homosexuals, although the report did not name the racist groups or the areas of Albania in which this was the case (61).
The Executive Director of GISH explained that discrimination at home, school, work and in religious institutions is a part of daily life for homosexuals (20 June 2006). Likewise, the director of HRDC stated that homosexuals are subject to insults and violence from the general public, making it difficult to gather for social activities (HRDC 26 June 2006). According to the director of HRDC, homosexuals have also encountered difficulties securing employment, and have been turned down for employment by government departments on account of their sexual orientation (ibid.).
The Executive Director of GISH stated that the Albanian media portrays homosexuals in a negative light, and that, in one case initiated by GISH, a newspaper refused to accept payment to publish articles on the LGBT community, stating that LGBT persons are immoral (20 June 2006).
In the opinion of the Professor of History at Indiana University, police are also hostile to homosexuals (14 June 2006). The Executive Director of GISH and the Director of HRDC stated that police do not help homosexuals who are discriminated against or targeted (GISH 20 June 2006; HRDC 26 June 2006). On the contrary, police subject homosexuals to verbal and physical ill-treatment (ibid.; GISH 20 June 2006).
The European Commission's 2005 Progress Report for Albania and Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005 found many reports of police mistreatment and arbitrary arrests of homosexuals (EU 9 Nov. 2005, 20; US 8 Mar. 2006, Sec. 5). For example, the Albanian ombudsman's office reportedly initiated an investigation into the case of the police mistreatment of a member of Gay Albania, although it had not made a decision on the case by the end of 2005 (ibid.). The Executive Director of GISH also related examples that occurred in 2005 of Tirana police detaining people found in a park known as a cruising and meeting area for gay people (20 June 2006). In their Operational Guidance Notes for Albania, the United Kingdom Home Office concluded that, in some circumstances, the type of protection offered to homosexual men depends on the attitude of the individual police officer involved in the case (UK 12 Jan. 2006, para. 3.11.5).
Protection and assistance available to homosexuals
According to the United Kingdom Home Office, national protection mechanisms for homosexuals are absent in Albania (UK 12 Jan. 2006, para. 3.11.8). In the opinion of the Executive Director of GISH, neither the Albanian government nor international organizations have made an effort to improve the situation of homosexuals in Albania (GISH 20 June 2006). The Executive Director added that Albanian courts have never heard cases relating to homosexuals, apart from one instance when the prosecutor's office opened the case of a homosexual man who was allegedly raped, robbed and beaten in March 2005; however, the police did not follow up and the case was eventually closed (ibid. 21 June 2006).
There are few homosexual organizations in Albania (HRDC 26 June 2006). Although these organizations generally operate without government restrictions (EU 9 Nov. 2005, 20), their effectiveness is limited due to a general hostile attitude towards homosexuals (Professor of History 14 June 2006), the unwillingness on the part of members to disclose their sexual orientation and a lack of funding for activities (HRDC 26 June 2006). To protect itself, GISH is officially a human rights organization and not a gay organization (GISH 21 June 2006).
Other organizations that assist homosexuals in Albania include Aksion Plus, Albanian Human Rights Group and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which are located in Tirana (HRDC 26 June 2006). The Albanian Human Rights Group provided legal assistance and social support and recorded cases of discrimination against homosexuals in 2004, which were mostly perpetrated by police officers (GISH 20 June 2006; see also HRDC 26 June 2006). These organizations have also carried out projects to raise public awareness of human rights issues and to help organize the LGBT community (GISH 20 June 2006).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Albania. 21 October 1998. Albanian Constitution. (Legislationline) <http://www.legislationline.org/upload/legislations/90/cc/55382e3ff12f4 665c2264ff446d8.htm> [Accessed 28 June 2006]
_____. 27 January 1995 (last amended 24 January 2001). Criminal Code of the Republic of Albania, No. 7895. (Legislationline) <http://www.legislationline.org/upload/legislations/0f/55/d46a10bcf55b80aae 189eb6840b4.htm> [Accessed 28 June 2006]
European Union (EU). 9 November 2005. European Commission. Albania: 2005 Progress Report. <http://ec.europa.eu/comm/enlargement/report_2005/pdf/package/sec_1421_ final_en_progress_report_al.pdf> [Accessed 6 June 2006]
Grupi per Integrim Shoqeror (GISH). 21 June 2006. Correspondence from Executive Director.
_____. 20 June 2006. Correspondence from the Executive Director.
_____. April 2006. "Research and Opinions on the Albanian Legal Situation in Relation to LGBT Rights." Received through correspondence.
_____. N.d. "Welcome." <http://www.gishalbania.com/index.php> [Accessed 28 June 2006]
Human Rights in Democracy Centre (HRDC). 26 June 2006. Correspondence from director.
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). April 1995. "Albanian Parliament Legalizes Homosexuality." <http://www.iglhrc.org/site/iglhrc/section.php?id=5&pos=0&print=1&detail=378> [Accessed 6 June 2006]
International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) Europe. N.d. "Same-Sex Marriage and Partnership: Country-By-Country." <http://www.ilga-europe.org/europe/issues/marriage_ and_partnership/same_sex_marriage_and_partnership_country_by_ country#albania> [Accessed 6 June 2006]
Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT). April 2005. State Violence in Albania: An Alternative Report to the UN Committee Against Torture. <http://www.omct.org/pdf/procedures/2005/s_violence_albania_5_2005_eng.pdf> [Accessed 5 July 2006]
Professor of History, Indiana University. 14 June 2006. Telephone interview.
United Kingdom. 12 January 2006. Home Office, Immigration and Nationality Directorate. "Operational Guidance Note: Albania." <http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/countryspecificpolicy/albania?view=Binary> [Accessed 6 June 2006]
United States (US). 8 March 2006. Department of State. "Albania." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005 <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61633.htm> [Accessed 6 June 2006]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources, including: Albanaian Helsinki Committee; Albanian Human Rights Group; Center for Russian and East European Studies, University of Toronto; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Internet sources, including: Amnesty International (AI), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC, European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI), Factiva, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch (HRW), International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), International Human Rights Education Consortium (IHREC), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Transitions Online, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI).