Albania

Mine Ban Policy

The Republic of Albania signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 8 September 1998 and ratified it on 29 February 2000, becoming a State Party on 1 August 2000.^[1] National implementation legislation was enacted in 2006, which includes penal sanctions.^[2]

Albania submitted its annual Article 7 report in April 2008, covering calendar year 2007.^[3] It included voluntary Form J, which provides details of progress in victim assistance.

Albania attended the Eighth Meeting of States Parties in Jordan in November 2007, as well as the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2008. On each occasion it made statements on its mine clearance and victim assistance programs.

In April 2006, Albania responded to a request from Landmine Monitor to share its views on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2 and 3. Most notably, for the first time Albania stated that it possesses antivehicle mines with breakwires, but that there are plans for their destruction. Albania also said it has never produced or stockpiled Claymore-type mines.^[4]

Albania is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. It participated in the Ninth Annual Conference of States Parties to the protocol in November 2007, but did not submit an annual Article 13 report. Albania is also party to CCW Protocol V on explosive remnants of war.

Albania participated in the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions in May 2008 and adopted the final treaty text.

Albania completed destruction of its stockpile of 1,683,860 antipersonnel mines on 4 April 2002, more than two years before its treaty deadline, in an internationally funded project carried out under NATO auspices. Albania has opted not to retain any antipersonnel mines for research or training purposes. It has stated that “there were no justifiable reasons for the retention of APM for training or any other purpose.”^[5]

Production of antipersonnel mines in Albania was suspended in 1990 and officially ceased in 1991. Albania may have been a minor exporter of antipersonnel mines in the past. The most recent use of antipersonnel mines in Albania was in 1998 and 1999 in the northeast of the country during the Kosovo crisis.^[6]

Landmine/ERW Problem

Until 2008, Albania had two main areas affected by explosive ordnance. The northeast is contaminated by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) arising largely from the Kosovo crisis of 1998–1999, when forces of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) laid extensive minefields in the border districts of Kukës, Has, and Tropojë. In addition to antipersonnel and antivehicle mines, the area contains (cluster) submunitions and other unexploded ordnance (UXO) resulting from FRY artillery and at least six NATO cluster munition strikes which fell within Albanian territory.^[7]

A general survey by the Albanian Armed Forces (AAF) in 1999–2000 identified 102 affected border areas totaling some 15km². By the end of 2006, DanChurchAid (DCA) estimated the remaining contamination at just over 2km² of land,^[8] and at the end of 2007 the Albania Mine Action Executive estimated this had fallen to 43 suspected hazardous areas (five in Has, 11 in Kukës, and 27 in Tropojë) covering 1.6 km² of land.^[9]

Other parts of Albania are also believed to be contaminated by mines and ERW, following widespread looting of explosive ordnance from military depots in 1997.^[10] Albania’s remaining, substantial stocks of obsolete munitions, held in 52 poorly maintained military depots, near populated areas, also pose a serious threat. Although Albania reports it has destroyed a large number of munitions in recent years, as of July 2008 it still had about 90,000 tons (90 million kg) of surplus dangerous munitions.^[11]

On 15 March 2008, a military depot used for the demolition of munitions, in Gerdec village, in the suburbs of Vora, about 13km from the capital, Tirana, exploded, killing 26 people and injuring 300 others, and scattering shells to four other villages and contaminating an area of approximately 3.5km² with ERW.^[12] The explosion reportedly destroyed some 4,200 houses, 32 businesses, and 34 farms, inflicting damage estimated at US$18.75 million (€11.8 million).^[13]

There have been no mine victims in the northeast for several years but mine contamination is said to have hampered development of infrastructure in this isolated, mountainous and impoverished area. The contamination has blocked access to land and water resources needed by a population mostly dependent on subsistence farming and animal husbandry.^[14]

Mine Action Program

Coordination and management

The Albanian Mine Action Committee (AMAC), an interministerial body formed in October 1999, serves as the “executive and policy making body for mine action” in Albania.^[15] The committee, chaired by the Deputy Minister of Defense, and including representatives of five ministries, met once in 2007 to consider strategies for strengthening mine action, national management, and objectives for 2008. It planned two meetings in 2008 but had not yet convened as of March.^[16]

A 2006 law on the implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty (see above) confirmed the Minister of Defense as the national authority in charge of mine action and implementation of the convention by AMAC and the Albanian Mine Action Executive (AMAE) (see below).^[17] A draft mine action law expected to receive parliamentary approval in 2008 provides for a new interministerial Albanian Mine Action Council to assume responsibility for overall management of the mine action program.^[18]

AMAE, set up at the same time as AMAC, is responsible for: coordinating and monitoring mine action activities in Albania, including drafting a mine action plan; oversight of operator activities; survey and marking; maintaining a database; and accreditation, validation, and quality management of mine action.^[19] AMAE works through its headquarters in Tirana and a field office in Kukës.

AMAE maintains a mine action database at its field office in Kukës which uses an older version of the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), but in 2008 AMAE was training staff in preparation for converting to an updated version of IMSMA.^[20]

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has supported capacity-building of Albania’s mine action program since 2002.^[21] Its support was due to end in December 2006, at which time the victim assistance (VA) advisor’s position closed. The technical advisor remained until November 2007.^[22] However, under a Memorandum of Understanding signed with Albania’s Ministry of Defense in July 2007, UNDP will continue to provide administrative and financial support to AMAE until the end of 2010.^[23]

National mine action legislation and standards

AMAE issued technical safety standards for mine action operations, based on the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).^[24] In 2007, AMAE drew up national mine action standards (NMAS) adapted from IMAS, with support from the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD). The NMAS, which were under translation into Albanian as of April 2008, will become part of the law on the implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.^[25] In addition, DCA uses standing operating procedures (SOPs) approved by AMAE as part of their accreditation process.^[26]

Status of strategic mine action planning

In December 2006, AMAE presented a National Mine Action Plan for Completion Fulfilling the Obligations Under Article 5 of the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Treaty 2007–10. The plan set out a vision of “an Albania free from mines by August 2010,” where “the borders are securely managed without the threat of landmines and ERW.” To deal with the remaining mine threat until 2010, the plan called for a National Clearance Capacity of six demining teams, which would require diminishing international support. DCA-managed National Clearance Capacity would execute clearance activities according to the mine action plan in 2008 and 2009.^[27] The completion plan envisages that after 2010 this clearance capacity will be integrated into the AAF’s explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) capacity.^[28]

Integration of mine action with relief, reconstruction and development

The government is putting emphasis on plans to develop the mine-affected Kukës region on the border with Kosovo, including construction of a highway from Tirana to Kukës, co-funded by the World Bank and seen as promoting trade and eco-tourism. Mine and ERW clearance is a pre-condition for these developments.^[29]

Mine action evaluations

An evaluation conducted by GICHD in June 2007 observed that Albania’s mine action program “has developed into one that is comprehensive, well coordinated and which has been well received by all key stakeholders.” It had made “steady progress by clearing 87% of the mined area, providing assistance to those injured by the mines and educating the people in Kukës about the dangers and risks involved with landmines and other remnants of war.”^[30] GICHD recommended that Albania should avoid the “distraction” of proposals to relocate AMAE in the Ministry of Defense and turning the existing six demining teams into a national NGO. Instead, GICHD urged that “all on-going efforts in this direction be terminated and that all future planning focus on clearing the last landmine, ensuring the sustainability of health structures to provide the long term assistance that all mine survivors with serious injuries require, and ensure the sustainability of the education programmes developed about landmines.”^[31]

Demining

DCA remained the only mine action operator in Albania in 2007, with a DCA program manager providing management supervision to its operations run and implemented by national staff. A DCA Senior Technical Advisor responsible for quality management left at the end of 2007 and was not replaced, leaving all aspects of operations run and implemented by national staff.^[32]

DCA implemented the Humanitarian Mine Action project (funded by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany through the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance [ITF] and by private donors) and the National Clearance Capacity project (funded by the European Commission through UNDP/ITF). The resources deployed in 2007 included six teams: two battle area clearance (BAC) teams and four mine clearance teams.^[33]

During 2007, AMAE conducted both quality control and quality assurance with one quality management team.^[34]

Under a joint project by the US Department of State’s Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund and Albania’s Ministry of Defense, the US-based Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) supervised destruction of surplus munitions by AAF’s EOD teams and subcontractors, including Albania’s National Demilitarization Center and the UK’s Disarmco.^[35]

Mine and ERW clearance in 2007 and 2008

DCA released a total of 492,517m² in 2007, one-third of the amount released in 2006 when DCA deployed a total of 15 clearance teams. It completed 12 of the 21 tasks assigned. Five tasks were suspended because of bad weather, which caused the loss of more than twice as many days of demining as in the previous year, and four tasks were postponed until 2008.^[36] Clearance covered 62,157m² of mined areas and 47,517m² of battle areas, resulting in the destruction of 425 antipersonnel mines, eight antivehicle mines and 165 items of UXO. Additionally, 20,000m² were released by AMAE through cancellation,^[37] and a further 362,843m² were area-reduced.^[38]

SAIC reported in January 2008 that in the preceding nine months it had completed destruction of 2,900 tons (2.9 million kg) of munitions, including all of the country’s naval mines, aerial bombs and torpedoes. Disarmco, a subcontractor, reported the project destroyed 46,052 old munitions, fuzes, and detonators.^[39]

AMAE issued 11 demining tasks for 2008, including three held over from 2007, involving clearance of a total of about 700,000m². DCA started demining in April with seven demining teams and one technical survey team.^[40] In addition, DCA sent two BAC teams to Gerdec for six weeks in March and April 2008 to assist in the clean-up after the depot explosion.^[41]

After the Gerdec explosion, AMAE coordinated emergency BAC of surrounding areas undertaken by AAF EOD teams with 392 personnel, two DCA BAC teams with 24 deminers, and 13 members of the Kosovo Protection Corps.^[42] Albanian media reported that in the emergency clean-up phase, between 17 March and 3 April, teams cleared 5,712 items of UXO and 660 exploded shells.^[43] As of July 2008, five Albanian AAF EOD teams were still clearing the area around Gerdec.^[44]

ArmorGroup has been contracted to conduct further clearance operations in Gerdec, with funding provided by the US Department of State through the ITF. As of July 2008, ArmorGroup had recruited and started training clearance teams and had started selection and packing of the ammunition which was considered safe for transportation to demilitarization facilities in Albania.^[45]

Summary of Efforts to Comply with Article 5

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Albania is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 August 2010. As of April 2008, Albania was confident it would fulfill this obligation.^[46]

Albania is included in the UNDP Completion Initiative which supports States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in fulfilling their Article 5 obligations, and in December 2006 published a National Mine Action Plan for Completion prepared with UNDP support. The plan set out a vision of “an Albania free from mines by August 2010,” where “the borders are securely managed without the threat of landmines and ERW.”^[47] Albania reaffirmed at the Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in June 2008 that it expected to meet its Article 5 deadline but commented “we will still need the support of the international community to achieve this important target.”^[48]

Landmine/ERW Casualties

Casualties from landmine and ERW contamination resulting from 1998–1999 Kosovo crisis in the northeast of the country have largely ceased due to clearance and mine/ERW risk education (RE) efforts. As of June 2008, AMAE had not recorded any mine/UXO casualties in Kukës since 2005.^[49]

AMAE recorded 18 new abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO) casualties in 2007, but it is impossible to distinguish AXO casualties from casualties due to possession of explosive ordnance. Prior to mid-2007, AMAE did not record information on AXO casualties. In 2007, two people were killed and 16 injured, including nine adults (seven men and two women), and eight children (four boys and four girls); the age of one injured male was not recorded. Casualties occurred in Berat, Durres, Kukës, Librazhd, Pogradec, and Shkodër.^[50] One previously unreported casualty, a man injured by AXO, occurred in 2006 in one of the ERW-affected areas near ammunition storage areas which were looted in 1997.^[51] The last mine casualties in these areas occurred in 2005.^[52]

Casualties continued to occur in 2008, with the Kukës-based NGO Victims of Mines and Arms Association-Kukesi (VMA) identifying three people killed and 11 injured in six AXO incidents reported in the media to 4 July.^[53]

Data collection

Albania lacks a unified national casualty surveillance system and the resources to support it. In northeast Albania, AMAE coordinates a well-established data collection mechanism using IMSMA (installed in Kukës). Incidents are monitored by the VMA, the Albanian Red Cross (ARC) supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the National Demilitarization Center (NDC), DCA and local “anti-mine” committees. Information is shared with all stakeholders and updated if a registered survivor dies.^[54] Comprehensive data collection was lacking in other parts of Albania, but the ARC, NDC and the VMA reported information on AXO casualties throughout the country.^[55] This data was entered into IMSMA and stored by AMAE in Tirana, but not updated if a survivor died.^[56]

As legally required since 2006, AMAE sends the Institute of Statistics of Albania (INSTAT) annual casualty updates. The Institute does not collect data.^[57] A 2007 GICHD evaluation recommended that the Ministry of Health (MoH) should develop a nationwide casualty surveillance system by 2009;^[58] similar recommendations were made by the ICRC in 2006.^[59]

As of 1 January 2008, the AMAE database contained information on 272 mine/ERW casualties in Kukës district since 1999 (34 people were killed and 238 injured); 20 were women and 72 were children. Men of working age were the largest group of casualties.^[60]

AMAE AXO casualty data for 1997–2007 included 497 casualties: 70 people killed and 427 injured.^[61] Most AXO casualties between 2005 and 2007 occurred during handling or playing with explosive devices and scrap metal collection, but it is unclear how many casualties were caused by ERW and how many by stockpiled munitions not abandoned or fired.^[62] Most of the casualties were students and children, or unemployed adults. Twenty-four of the 36 districts have reported AXO casualties since 1999; the most affected districts (10 or more casualties) were Berat, Kukës, Puke, Shkodër, Tirana, and Vlore.^[63]

The VMA maintains a database of 238 registered mine/ERW survivors in northeast Albania. The database is updated regularly and used to plan VA. Data is shared with local health services and, in 2008, the VMA was piloting a system recording VA services provided to survivors.^[64]

Data regarding persons with disabilities in Albania is incomplete; 102,945 persons with disabilities were recorded as receiving state support as of June 2007.^[65]

Landmine/ERW Risk Education

As planned, mine/ERW RE coverage was adapted and reduced to reach 25,500 people in 22 villages with ongoing clearance activities in 2007, due to the decrease in casualties in northeast Albania. In 2006, 30,000 people in 39 villages received RE.^[66] RE programs were adequate in northeast Albania but remained inadequate to address the threat in ERW-affected areas.^[67]

In 2007–2008, RE in Kukës was conducted primarily by the VMA and ARC, but ARC was scheduled to conclude its activities in 2008. ARC also provided limited RE in AXO-affected areas in Berat, Dibra, Shkodër, and Vlore districts in conjunction with casualty data collection activities.^[68] In early 2008, ARC, in consultation with AMAE, published an RE leaflet with greater focus on ERW, including AXO.^[69]

AMAE is responsible for coordination and monitoring of RE activities, as mandated by the National Mine Action Strategy. Albania’s 2007–2010 completion plan aims to “discourage life-threatening behavior and activities among at-risk vulnerable groups,” and to integrate RE into the national school curriculum.^[70] In 2007–2008, the Ministry of Education and Science and the Institute of Training and Curriculum, with UNICEF, trained 80 teachers to become RE trainers for schools in six regions affected by mines or AXO: Gjirokastra, Korce, Kukës, Shkodër, Tirana, and Vlore.^[71] RE manuals were distributed in schools in northeast Albania.^[72] Funding from the government was needed to ensure full and prompt implementation of RE in school curricula.^[73] AMAE liaised with the Kukës Rural Development Initiative (KRDI) to link RE with KRDI community projects in affected areas.^[74] IMSMA includes RE data used for AMAE coordination and project planning by implementers.^[75]

Although no direct connection between RE and a reduction in incidents could be readily made, the 2007 GICHD evaluation of the mine action program found that “it is reasonable to conclude that in Albania the extensive nature of the [RE] program has reduced accidents and casualties.” The report recommended that RE messages be adjusted to include assurances to communities about cleared land.^[76] It also recommended a review of the accuracy and appropriateness of the content of the RE school manual prior to full implementation.^[77]

Albania reported on its RE capacity and activities in Form I of its Article 7 report for 2007.^[78]

AMAE prepared emergency RE materials specifically for the ERW threat from the munitions explosion in Gerdec in March 2008. Concerns caused by the explosion also resulted in private arms caches being abandoned, increasing the AXO threat and the need for RE.^[79]

Victim Assistance

During 2007, basic services to mine/ERW survivors were provided by NGOs and the government. Key government institutions saw NGOs as important partners to build VA capacity.^[80] In northeast Albania all mine/ERW survivors received basic medical assistance and support through the AMAE-coordinated VA program, and other persons with disabilities were also able to benefit from the program. However, outside of the VA program, survivors and persons with disabilities in the region continued to face challenges, such as poor quality medical care and poor access to services, few employment opportunities, and widespread poverty.^[81] The majority of ERW survivors from ERW-affected areas received very little support and there were no specific VA programs in these areas.^[82] However, with support from the mine action program to the Ministry of Health, it was possible “… for every victim of AXO to access services in Tirana or the regional hospital.”^[83]

State-run emergency and medical services are available throughout the country and the national referral system functioned adequately.^[84] Evacuation for trauma patients by helicopter ambulances was available. Emergency care was also provided through a community-based rehabilitation (CBR) network, and specialized services were available in Tirana and to a limited extent at the Kukës Regional Hospital.^[85] Corrective surgery capacity at the Mother Theresa Hospital in Tirana was sufficient and there was no waiting list.^[86]

In 2007, Albania’s physical rehabilitation capacity increased but remained reliant on international support. There were few trained rehabilitation specialists or physiotherapists, although some 2,000 were said to be needed.^[87] Prosthetic and orthotic services were available at the National Orthotic-Prosthetic Center (NOPC), the Military Hospital in Tirana, the Kukës Hospital Prosthetic Unit, and the Ortho-Prosthetic Center in Pogradec.^[88] All known AXO survivors from ERW-affected areas requiring prostheses received services from the NOPC, or in Slovenia through the ITF. There was no waiting list at the NOPC by early 2008.^[89] However, assistance remained hampered by a lack of high quality services and the inability to provide all types of devices.^[90]

Counseling services are not widely available and not socially accepted; staff and capacity are lacking. The VMA provided psychosocial support to survivors in the mine-affected districts of Has, Kukës, and Tropojë in the northeast, but funding ended in December 2007 and many trained social workers in mine-affected areas had to be replaced during 2007.^[91] No psychological support for ERW survivors in ERW-affected areas was reported.^[92] The VMA provided vocational training and accommodation for Albanian survivors in neighboring Kosovo through an Albanian-Kosovo education exchange agreement.^[93]

Persons with disabilities rarely benefited from employment services and no reliable statistics on their employment were kept. A government scheme to encourage the employment of persons with disabilities was unsuccessful.^[94] Persons with disabilities are entitled to benefits only if they were injured during official employment; as most mine/ERW survivors were self-employed or children, only 36 survivors were known to receive disability pensions. The draft Bill to Empower and Regulate Mine Action in the Republic of Albania, pending approval as of 30 June 2008, specified that all landmine survivors be entitled to the same benefits as a “labor invalid.”^[95] If approved, survivors would receive a compensation payment.^[96]

Albania has legislation to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, but few concrete measures were taken and government agencies lacked coordination. Discrimination in access to services existed and physical accessibility legislation was enforced infrequently. Legislation assuring access to vocational training and employment was also not enforced.^[97]

As of 31 July 2008, Albania had not signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities or its Optional Protocol. However, Albania has reported its intention to sign the convention; as of March 2008, the text had been translated and distributed to relevant ministries for an assessment of capacity, needs, and compatibility with existing legislation.^[98]

Progress in meeting VA25 victim assistance objectives

Albania is one of 25 States Parties with significant numbers of mine survivors and ìthe greatest responsibility to act, but also the greatest needs and expectations for assistance in providing adequate services for the care, rehabilitation and reintegration of survivors.^[99] Albania presented its 2005–2009 objectives at the Sixth Meeting of States Parties in 2005. The objectives were revised substantially in 2006 and 2007, and plans to achieve the objectives were presented. The 2005–2009 objectives and plan functioned as the de facto VA workplan and were said to have been adjusted to emerging needs in consultation with the relevant stakeholders.^[100]

At the Eighth Meeting of States Parties in November 2007 and the Standing Committee meetings in June 2008, Albania’s VA expert presented detailed and systematic progress reports on Albania’s measures to achieve the objectives.

As in previous years, Albania made steady progress in achieving its objectives and continued to make minor adjustments, usually to timeframes, to guarantee completion. The objectives are linked to existing development and disability plans, involve all relevant stakeholders, and are in accordance with needs of survivors and priorities in affected communities. Albania has also experienced some delays in completing its objectives, but in 2007–2008, it achieved or made progress on all the objectives falling within this timeframe, most notably the completion of the Kukës Rehabilitation Center in Kukës Hospital well in advance of its deadline. Other areas of progress included data collection outside of the Kukës region; continued training for medical and rehabilitation staff; and exceeding the targets for vocational training and micro-credit loans, despite delays at the start of the project. 

Most of the objectives to be completed before 2007 were achieved and, where appropriate, activities continued. The weakest component of Albania’s objectives might be in the area of broader disability legislation and policy, as this requires national involvement whereas many of the other objectives are specific to the situation in Kukës. Where there are challenges in completing the objectives, Albania has reported clearly on the reasons, for example in maintaining the CBR network or the continued need to send some people abroad for physical rehabilitation because of insufficient national capacity.^[101]

Victim assistance strategic framework

AMAE coordinates VA in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, Kukës Regional Hospital, the Directorate of Primary Health Care, NOPC, the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD), the VMA, Handicap International (HI), ITF, and the Slovenian Institute of Rehabilitation.^[102] Albania’s comprehensive VA strategy for the survivors from the northeast was adopted in 2002. The 2007–2010 completion plan included the strategic goals of building national capacity and mainstreaming VA into government structures by 2010.^[103]

Survivors were said to be directly involved in planning and activities in northeast Albania, but providing support to AXO survivors is not within AMAE’s mandate.^[104] Sustainability of VA in Albania relies on building sufficient national capacity by 2009 and the National Strategy on People with Disabilities (NSPWD).^[105] VA, and mine action in general, has also been integrated in broader development strategies,^[106] such as the Kukës Regional Development Initiative (KRDI), which links infrastructure development to VA initiatives. However, KRDI construction and repair guidelines did not include physical accessibility for persons with disabilities.^[107] While not completely nationally sustainable, AMAE uses existing structures through government and NGO partner agencies, monitors projects to ensure adherence to international standards, and identifies priorities/gaps.^[108]

The 2006 NSPWD aims to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities through health services, education, employment, vocational training, capacity-building, legislation, and accessibility. The NSPWD does not specifically mention mine/ERW survivors. AMAE contributed to the development of the strategy, followed its progress and worked with the VMA and the wider disability sector to inform mine survivors of their rights under the strategy.^[109] The first monitoring report on the NSPWD in 2007, found that progress was slow and many goals remained unmet.^[110] The strategy had no budget for implementation and concerns were raised “as to whether the government will fulfill its commitments under the strategy” by allocating the necessary resources.^[111]

The National Council for the Affairs of People with Disabilities (NCAPD) was established in 2006 under the NSPWD framework and headed by the Deputy Prime Minister. In 2007 and early 2008, the NCAPD faced challenges which delayed implementation of activities, including a change in Deputy Prime Minister. NCAPD monitored disability legislation and the progress of the NSPWD. The NCAPD attributed poor progress in NSPWD objectives to a lack of interministerial coordination and a lack of resources for implementation. The NCAPD is required to meet three times per year, but met only once in 2007, further impeding its effectiveness.^[112]

The Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities has primary responsibility for disability issues. Other ministries responsible for addressing the rights of persons with disabilities included the ministries of health, education, justice and culture, youth, sports, and tourism.^[113] The Disability and Development Coalition has the goal of mainstreaming disability rights into development. Members include disabled people’s organizations, human rights groups, the World Health Organization, international donors, and business representatives. The coalition met twice between May 2006 and October 2007.^[114]

Assistance activities

In 2007, NOPC assisted 349 people with prosthetic devices, including 88 prostheses (one for a survivor). This is a sharp decrease from 231 prostheses (13 for survivors) in 2006.^[115] Moreover, access to services at NOPC did not improve and in October services were suspended for two months due to eviction from its premises and the “deplorable” state of the temporary facilities.^[116] The construction of a new facility, under discussion since 2005, did not commence in 2007, even though government funds were made available. The SFD handed over responsibility for ordering NOPC materials to the MoH.^[117]

In 2007–2008, the prosthetic and physiotherapy units of Kukës Rehabilitation Center were rehoused in refurbished and re-equipped premises within Kukës Hospital. The center started operating in September 2007 and about 80% of beneficiaries were mine/ERW survivors. As of February 2008, some 150 services (about 120 for survivors) were provided: eight amputees received new prostheses; 40 patients received prosthetic adaptations and repairs; and the others received physiotherapy.^[118] Patients from other areas of Albania also used the services.^[119] In 2008, AMAE aimed to secure adequate materials for the center which should be integrated in the hospital’s financial system by 2010. No accommodation for patients and their families was available, but was being considered.^[120]

The ITF provided treatment for 30 survivors at the Rehabilitation Institute in Slovenia and directed donor funding towards other VA activities.^[121]

The VMA is the only local NGO providing VA in Kukës district; services are prioritized according to set needs assessment criteria based on age, level of disability, family situation, and services already received. The survivors are informed about the criteria and the priority-setting process. The VMA provided multiple services to its 238 members: 139 received medical treatment, 99 prosthetics and devices, 87 physical therapy, 49 peer support, 45 professional counseling, 37 sport activities, 16 loans, 20 vocational training, four job placements, 10 educational support, and 45 were supported through survivor associations. The VMA also provided 412 logistical support services. ^[122]

Support for Mine Action

The Albania National Mine Action Plan for Completion includes a cost assessment totaling $5,869,216 (€4,280,662) to address treaty obligations from 2008–2010, including fulfillment of mine clearance obligations and addressing RE and VA needs. Of the total amount required, $3,008,875 was dedicated to mine clearance, $1,271,241 to VA, $363,500 to RE, and $1,225,600 to planning and coordination. The plan, which includes projected annual budget needs but does not specify resource mobilization strategies, is reviewed and updated by AMAE in cooperation with UNDP.^[123]

National support for mine action

The government of Albania reported contributions to mine action totaling $235,000 in 2007, consisting of $100,000 in-kind contributions of helicopter support and explosive materials for mine clearance, $5,000 for RE, and $130,000 for VA. Albania projected the same level of funding for 2008.^[124]

International cooperation and assistance

In 2007, four countries reported providing $1,203,112 (€907,103) to mine action in Albania. Reported mine action funding in 2007 was 43% less than the amount reported in 2006. The decline in funding continues a trend set in 2006, when funds dropped 50% compared to 2005. Contributions by the US were reduced to approximately $632,000 in 2007 from nearly $2 million in 2006, accounting for much of the overall decline in funds.^[125] Although national and international funds at 2007 levels were sufficient to fund clearance programs, they are not enough to cover all funding requirements projected under the Albania Completion Plan: $2,854,616 for 2008, $2,352,400 for 2009, and $662,200 for 2010.^[126]

As of June 2008, AMAE reported receiving $1,903,106 in pledged funds in 2007, resulting in a shortfall of $1,345,954 against a 2007 budget of $3,249,060. Shortfalls were reported in funding for all years of the National Mine Action Plan for Completion. Mine clearance was fully funded for 2008, while all other sectors were underfunded for all years, with a total shortfall of $669,741 for 2008, and $3,054,341 for 2008–2010. AMAE reported that funding shortfalls mainly impacted the VA sector, so that socio-economic reintegration activities could not be fully implemented during the year. VA activities in 2007 consisted mainly of logistical support to mine survivors and improving services of regional hospitals, using funds raised in 2006.^[127]

In 2007, the ITF allocated $2,137,859 (9.3%) of its funds to Albania.^[128] Funds were allocated as follows: $1,559,808 (73%) to mine and UXO clearance, $398,055 (19%) to VA, $96,605 (4%) to RE, and $83,391 (4%) to structure support.^[129] The ITF allocated $3,336,558 (11.6%) of its funds in 2006 to mine action in Albania.^[130]

2007 International Mine Action Funding to Albania: Monetary^[131]

2007 International Mine Action Support to Albania: In-Kind^[132]

UNICEF reported receiving $27,000 from the UK in 2007, for RE.^[133]