LGBT rights in Albania

LGBT rights in Albania
Location of  LGBT rights in Albania  (green) in Europe  (dark grey)  —  [Legend]
Same-sex sexual activity legal?	Legal since 1995, age of consent equalized in 2001
Gender identity/expression	-
Military service	Gays and lesbians are allowed to serve since 2008
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	same-sex marriage is proposed
Adoption	-

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Albania are protected under a comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation. Both male and female same-gender sexual activities are legal in Albania, but households headed by same-gender couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-gender couples.

Albania, as a whole, is considered to be rather conservative, especially in public reactions regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights and visibility of LGBT people; however, recent anti-discrimination legislation have made ILGA-Europe regard Albania as one of a very few countries in Europe which explicitly bans discrimination on the grounds of gender identity. Albania has ratified Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, moreover Albania was a signatory to the 2007 UN Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

Law regarding same-sex sexual activity

Albania decriminalized homosexuality in 1995. The age of consent has been equal at 14 for all, regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation, since 2001 [2] [3] (see: Ages of consent in Europe).

In the summer of 1994 the Government of Albania put forward a draft Penal code under which homosexuality would have remained illegal, but with the maximum sentence reduced to three years. A campaign by the Gay Albania Society within Albania, and international pressure orchestrated by ILGA, in which the Council of Europe played an important role, led to the withdrawal of this draft law.

On 20 January 1995 the Albanian Parliament legalized homosexual relations in Albania. Article 137 of the old Penal code promulgated under socialist Albania, which mandated up to ten years of prison for "being homosexual," has thus been done away with completely.

Recognition of same-gender relationships

Main article: Recognition of same-sex unions in Albania

Same gender marriage or civil unions are not currently recognised in Albania. Even though Albania's Prime Minister Sali Berisha announced in July 2009 that he would support the recognition of same-gender civil marriages, the proposed anti-discrimination law, unanimously approved on 4 February 2010, never addressed same-sex marriage. Gay rights groups praised the new law but said they hoped that Berisha would eventually keep to his promise on legalising same-sex marriage.

Discrimination protections

On 4 February 2010, the Albanian Parliament unanimously adopted a comprehensive anti-discrimination law which banned discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. The law bans discrimination in all areas, including employment, the provision of goods and services, education, health care, and housing. Albania is one of few European countries to explicitly ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity. The law also exceeds EU minimum standards, which require that employers refrain from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Gay rights movements in Albania

There are several organisations in Albanian focused on LGBT rights - the two most well known are Aleanca Kunder Diskriminimit LGBT and Pink Embassy. Both organizations work to create a better and more equal living situation for LGBT people in Albania.

Aleanca was founded as a grassroots volunteer organization in early 2009. Its mission is to create a free, open and equal Albanian society that embraces diversity and is inclusive of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. They work predominately to increase public and governmental understanding, education, and awareness of issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. They sponsor numerous community building activities which range from social events to peer led discussion groups to grassroots actions to raise LGBT visibility. Aleanca also conducts monitoring of human rights violations and works closely with other Albanian human rights NGOs, the Albanian government and state institutions, and international organizations to protect rights and address circumstances where rights are violated.

Pink Embassy aims to strengthen the position of gay community living there. Actually, this organisation is focused on two main areas: Advocacy and lobbying to ensure respect for the rights of the LGBT community through information and education campaigns, monitoring violations of human rights of members of the LGBT and the reaction against anyone who violates or endangers those rights, impact on government and policy-making to build effective mechanisms in favor of the LGBT community; Creating favorable conditions to facilitate visibility and mobilize the LGBT community - through organizing social events, panel discussions, setting up of "mentor" and "peer support" and activities that empower the communities to become spokesman and protector of their rights; All action of PINK Embassy will seek to improve the attitude and behavior of government and Albanian society towards individuals and LGBT issues, as well as full integration of the community in social, economic, political and social situation in Albania.

In December 2010, the Deputy Commission for Labour, Social Affairs and Health, Tritan Shehu, declared that "homosexuality should be treated by medical staff as hormonal disorder, as well as psychological". . The LGBT organizations filed a collective complaint with the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination. The Commissioner reviewed the declarations and, after a lengthy delay, on 30 September 2011 reprimanded Mr. Shehu in a letter to Parliament: “Mr. Shehu should avoid discriminatory remarks in the future, which cause an atmosphere of tension and unfriendliness towards the LGBT [Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender] community in Albania." The Commissioner further recommended that Parliament should grant “all guaranties so that the thoughts, opinions and remarks of the LGBT community are heard, evaluated and taken into consideration, when they are directly involved on specific topics, in order to help the community to enjoy fully its rights and freedoms.”

See also

• Politics of Albania
• LGBT rights in Europe

External links

• Country guide - ILGA-Europe