Address of H.E.Mr. Bujar Nishani, the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Albania
to the 7th Regional Conference on Illegal Migration, Organised Crime, Corruption and Terrorism


BRDO PRI KRANJU
SLOVENIA
03-04 October 2007


Distinguished participants,

The Fight against Illegal Migration towards our countries, Organised Crime, Corruption and Terrorism remain one of the political priorities of the Albanian Government under its integration to the EU’s and NATO’s structures.

National Strategy on Migration, drawn up in cooperation with international counterparts such as IOM, ICMPD, ICITAP etc., is included in the recently revised “National Strategy for Development and Integration”, as for the implementation of its Action Plan are involved all the state and non-state institutions in Albania.

The coordination of the social policies with repressive ones is the best way for the mitigation of the migration phenomenon in general and the suppression of illegal activities in particular.


The EU’s policies towards Western Balkan countries for the facilitation of the visa procedures, the replacement of the illegal migration with that organised under “Circular migration and mobility partnerships between the European Union and the third countries”, are the best support the EU gives to our commitments for preventing the illegal migration.

The Strengthening of State Border control and surveillance by means of improvements in logistical infrastructure, IT and human capacities, the improvement in policies and procedures for entry and stay of foreign nationals in Albania, the production of travel documents with high security elements and soon the production of biometric passports, the signature of readmission agreements and protocols with countries of origin and third countries, the enhancement of international cooperation between structures dealing with the prevention and suppression of trans-border criminal activities, the fight against corruption, the adjustment of the criminal law on trafficking and smuggling in human beings, the enhancement of cooperation between border and migration services, and those responsible for concerns related to organised crime, are some of the measures taken for the elimination of trend factors.

Albania has taken part in the operations performed by FRONTEX and SECI Center against illegal migration, trafficking and smuggling in human beings. Joint operations have been taken place with Hellenic police at the south border of Albania for combating trafficking and smuggling in human beings. Nowadays we accept that Albania is not considered any more as a source or transit country for trafficking in human beings. This achievement derived from the elaboration and implementation of a special strategy for fight against trafficking in human beings, improvements in the legal framework, establishment of new articles in the Penal Code with provisions covering woman trafficking for prostitution, child trafficking, human beings trafficking etc. Moreover, special structures for combating human beings trafficking have been established within the State Police.

Albania has successfully achieved to cease the illegal passage of clandestine migrants through sea, where in addition to the Police actions a great role has played the implementation of the Law “On moratorium for motor-vessels” and the bylaws under its implementations.


Moreover, it has been performed the extension of application of unique procedures for admitting and interviewing the irregular returnees at border crossing points and the training of the staff of Border Police who serve in various border areas of Albania, in order to improve identification, sheltering, and assistance for women and children- victims of trafficking returned mainly from third countries.


Albania is the first country in Western Balkans that has signed the Readmission Agreement with the European Community and is closely interacting with Member States for its implementation aiming the conclusion of implementing protocols. Endeavours are under way for the signature of Readmission Agreements with the countries of origin of the irregular immigrants.

Based on a very good cooperation with homologous structures of the neighbouring countries, Greece and Italy, the illegal passage through Adriatic and Ionian seas, is fully stemmed.



Distinguished participants,

Despite the measures taken by Albanian and the results achieved, problems have been faced along the green border line shared with Greece and other neighbouring countries. During this year successful operations have been carried out to dismantle criminal groups and networks, worth emphasising the operation in June 2007, in Gjirokastra, with 8 persons including 4 police effectives arrested for the facilitation of illegal emigration towards Greece.
During 2006, there were evidenced 423 cases of illegal trafficking, with 537 perpetrators involved of which 270 were arrested, 282 under pursuance in free state, and 38 persons are in pursuit.


The fight against drugs



The achieved progress

The fight against the drug trafficking has been in the centre of the attention of the Albanian State Police and to its specialised structures. In spite of this decreasing tendency, Albania still remains an originated country for cannabis and its derivates (marijuana, hashish, hashish oil) and a transit country for trafficking of heroin, while the cocaine quantity transiting through Albania is negligible and the synthetic drugs doesn’t make any problem yet.

Our country adhered in the three United Nations Conventions in these fields.

The latest amendments in the legal and sub-legal acts are very important, namely the amendments in the Law Nr. 9559, dated on 08.06.2006 “For an insertion in the Law No. 7975, dated on 26.07.1995 for narcotic plants and psychotropic substances” and Law “For the moratorium of motor sailing vehicles.


Referring to the statistical data’s submitted by the Italian part, during the first fifth months of 2007, the quantity of the sequestered drugs in Italy originated or transited through our country, has been smaller that the quantity seized during the same period of the last year.

Statistical Data
 

Type	2003	2004	2005	2006	5 M 2007
Heroine	1100 kg 1 gram	1085 kg 330 gram	392 kg 604 gram	379 kg 162 gr	57 kg 392 gr
Cocaine	4 kg 900 gram	3 kg 289 gram	2 kg 130 gram	0	314 gr
Hashish	172 kg 236 gram	0	0	30 kg 800 gr	0
Marihuana	9258 kg 782 gram	801 kg 300 gram	808 kg 322 gram	3043 kg 25 gr	40 kg

Statistical Data of the Albanian State Police for the period September 2005 – 15 September 2007:

 

Type	Number of cases	Discovered	Quantity	Authors	Arrested or detained	Released on parole	Under Investigation
Heroine	192	190	253 kg 146.7 gr	341	311	17	13
Cocaine	19	19	17 kg 489.6 gr	38	35	1	2
Marihuana /Hashish	331	297	12889 kg 621.3 gr	512	439	31	42
Cannabis (cultivated)	427	123	270460 plant	132	73	37	22

During this period there have been stricken 72 criminal groups with 261 persons. There have been performed 20 international operations in cooperation with Prosecution and judiciary authorities of Italy, Switzerland, United States of America, Germany etc, where have been arrested 61 persons and 75 performed operations in the national level for which there have been applied the special techniques of investigation.

Statistical data:


 

(Decreasing of the sequestered quantity for the year 2007, it is explained with the increasing of the destroyed plants, as well as with the diminishing of the cultivation possibility)


 

The comprehensive cooperation between the Police services of all Western Balkan countries through immediate exchange of information, joint actions, risk analyses of reciprocal interest. joint investigations on criminal networks, etc is the key solution.

 

 

 

Nowadays, Albania has a sufficient domestic legal framework for the information exchange, it has also ratified the Police Cooperation Convention for Southeast Europe signed in Vienna on 5th May 2006. It has a capable IT System for the collection, processing and exchange information, data and statistics, it has built on special structures to perform the above activities and above all it has the full volition to concretise this bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

The Albania’s profile in the migration field supported by Ministry of Interior of Slovenia contains a wide-range and detailed information related to migration situation in Albania, the links with Diaspora, remittance flows as well as aspects of the Albanian legislation approximated to EU Acquis.


The Albanian Government support and promote every initiative that is targeted to the enhancement of dialogue and cooperation between Balkan countries in the migration field particularly under the exchange of information on migratory flows.


Furthermore, the Albanian Government is committed to assist to the implementation of any projects that would contribute to the Fight Against Organised Crime and corruption.

Thank You for the attention.