Response to the report of the head of the OSCE presence in Albania

As reported by Chargé d’Affaires Katherine Brucker
to the Permanent Council in Vienna
September 19, 2024

Ambassador Tarran, welcome to the Permanent Council. Thank you for reporting on the OSCE Presence in Albania support to the Albanian government and for dedicating your field mission to delivering tangible results for people on the ground.

We appreciate your successful efforts to facilitate electoral reform, fight corruption, strengthen the rule of law and promote good governance at local and national levels. We also appreciate Presence’s work to promote an active role for civil society and respect for human rights, improve gender equality, contribute to a free media environment that is friendly to independent media, and address transnational threats.

Albania faces a serious challenge of corruption, which is an obstacle to Albania’s economic development and contributes to high emigration. We welcome the government’s strategy to combat corruption in high-risk sectors such as public procurement and tax administration. Support to the field mission for judicial sector reforms will lead to continued cooperation between law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and judges to address high-level corruption. Training your team for the Supreme Court against Corruption and Organized Crime and assistance to the Constitutional Court of Albania improve decision-making and increase transparency.

Programming a field mission with the Central Electoral Commission to strengthen Albania’s electoral administration is also key. From training the trainers to improving voters’ access to information, we value Presence in Albania’s commitment to strengthening democracy, especially at a time when democratic principles are under threat across the OSCE region.

Unfortunately, the OSCE presence in Albania – like all other field missions – faces significant operational difficulties due to severe financial constraints. The inability of the Participating States to adopt a unified budget has placed undue burden on the ability of all field missions to effectively fulfil their mandates, affecting everything from staff and resources to programme implementation. We encourage Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve their budget differences for the good of the OSCE as a whole and call on all Participating States to engage in good faith negotiations with a view to adopting the Unified Budget for 2024 as soon as possible.

Ambassador Tarran, thank you for your leadership in the OSCE presence in Albania. I also express my sincere thanks and appreciation to your team for supporting the Government of Albania in implementing its OSCE commitments and for doing so with dedication and determination despite the difficulties we have caused them through our inability to adopt the Unified Budget.

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By US Mission OSCE | September 19, 2024 | Topics: Civil Society and NGOs, Human Rights, Statements | Tags: Albania, OSCE Mission in Abania