Topic: 2024-Balancing Human Rights
Country: Albania
Delegate Name: Adilyn Petros
When terrorism strikes, its immediate devastating effects are painfully obvious. But the fear and mistrust it creates has deep and corrosive long-term effects on society. The need to protect people from such attacks is clear, but at the same time we must carefully consider the impact of counter-terrorism measures.
Albania is deeply committed to the protection and promotion of human rights, including through our foreign policy. Convinced that respect of fundamental rights and freedoms for all individuals and groups is a key precondition for long-lasting peace, security and sustainable development, we will work to advance human rights standards around the world.
Currently, The terrorism threat in Albania consists of foreign terrorist organizations’ attempts to radicalize Albanian youth to violence. Albania continues its strong support of international counter terrorism efforts- we have adopted national strategies on counter terrorism and countering violent extremism and are revising the strategy.
There is still room for improvement- we can avoid discrimination against specific groups. For example, religious followers can be more prone to criminal investigations, as some religious practices can also be misinterpreted as signs of radicalization. This calls for guidance and training to avoid such bias and misunderstanding as well as data collection to assess the impact on different groups.
Albania will support the strengthening of multilateral policies and practices that address all drivers of violent extremism conducive to terrorism, with a focus on countering terrorist narratives, both online and offline, in a balanced manner.
