OSCE, U.S. and EU urge Albanian authorities to investigate removal of Roma families, provide social assistance to displaced

TIRANA, 16 March 2011 – Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, the Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Alexander Arvizu, the U.S. Ambassador to Albania, Ambassador Ettore Sequi, the Head of the EU Delegation to Albania, made the following statement today concerning recent incidents involving Roma families:

“The OSCE Presence in Albania, the U.S. Embassy in Tirana and the EU Delegation to Albania understand that during the week of February 20, 2011 dozens of Roma families were violently removed from their settlements in central Tirana by unidentified persons who set fire to their shelters and chased them from their homes.”

“We note that these actions resulted in some serious injuries and the displacement of large numbers of people, including many children.”

“We note that Albania has formally committed itself to the objectives of the Declaration of the Decade of Roma Inclusion and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.”

“Albania has committed itself to implementing the Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE Area, as well as the 2009 Ministerial Council Decision on Enhancing OSCE Efforts to Ensure Roma and Sinti Sustainable Integration. By adopting the decision, OSCE participating States, including Albania, committed themselves to combating discrimination against and racism towards Roma and Sinti, including in the media.”

“The European Commission, in its Opinion on Albania's membership application, identified the fight against discrimination and the protection of the rights of Roma as key priority areas needing particular attention from the authorities.”

“In this spirit, we strongly urge the responsible authorities to take the appropriate action by investigating the disturbing February events in order to ensure that such acts are not repeated. We also encourage the authorities to take the appropriate action to provide necessary social assistance, including housing, to those people who have now found themselves homeless.”

“We are confident that the majority of citizens oppose such acts of violence against the minority group.”

“The OSCE, the U.S. and the EU align themselves fully with civil society representatives in calling for an end to discrimination and violence against Roma families and children.”