Human Development

Following deep socio-economic changes in the country during the transition period and due to the economic and social pressures have accompanied this transition such as unemployment, poverty, emigration, rural exodus, violence and criminality and the shock of traditional values, many groups in society have become socially vulnerable, which leaded to a �risk of marginalization and social exclusion�, because in many occasions it is entwined with and fed by economic poverty. The reasons for a raised level of risk to an individual or a family can be ascribed to social, cultural, economic, health and education inequalities as well as in the inability of institutions to provide the basic social needs.

The Constitution provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through periodic elections held on the basis of universal suffrage. It also guarantees the right to access of information; according to the Access-to-Information Law, all citizens, including foreign media, have the right to obtain information about the activities of government bodies, and of persons who exercise official state functions. However, this law has not been fully implemented and access to information for citizens and noncitizens remained a problem.

The country continued to experience high levels of violent crime. Societal violence and discrimination against women and children and trafficking in persons, particularly women and children, were serious problems. Due to the lack of public order and security, children have become victims of trafficking and crime. According to the CRCA, the majority of child laborers worked as street or shop vendors, beggars, farmers or shepherds, drug runners, vehicle washers, textile factory workers, shoeshine boys, or prostitutes. The country was both a source and a transit country primarily for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor, including begging, but to a lesser extent recently, the country served as a transit route for trafficked women and girls.

The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, ethnicity, or language; however, discrimination against women and Roma minority groups persisted. Societal discrimination against Roma, the Egyptian Homeless, displaced or street children remained a problem, especially among Roma children. They begged in the street or did other petty work, and many immigrated to neighboring countries, especially during the summer. The Roma and the Egyptian communities were among the most politically, economically and socially neglected groups in the country.

Since poverty varies very much by the geographical position, history, taxes, climatic conditions, policies, institutions, communities, people all the towns and villages in Albania have the same characteristics of poverty as well distinct, special ones. This poverty is caused by lack of income and assets to attain basic necessities, sense of voicelessness and powerlessness in the institutions of state and society, vulnerability to adverse shocks, linked to an inability to cope with them. The available studies reveal the complex nature of poverty in Alba ia and the major effort that will be needed to reduce it by 50% from its present level by 2015.

The movement for gender equality in Albania has marked a lot of progress during the last years in Albania. Women represent over half of the human resources in Albania and half the potential of the society. Equality between women and men is recognized as critical to the achievement of sustainable development including improvement of quality of life for all, human rights and a democratic society. While, the government is committed to consider gender issues in the policy agenda and this is reflected in the changes within the government structures and strategies the focus tends to be on women�s development rather than on gender. Opportunities for women are still restricted, while it is possible for women to accede to important political, social and economic posts, the tradition of a male-dominated society remains predominant particularly in rural areas. Various NGOs worked to promote women's rights; however, they were not well represented at the highest levels of their fields.

Nonetheless, civil society in Albania remains weak. Various actions have been implemented by civil society organisations in order to contribute to the development of the country. Initiatives have been undertaken to encourage collaboration between state institutions, ministries and civil society organisations, being involved in the drafting of national strategies in relation to important social areas such as children and antitrafficking. The greater pressure exerted by the civil society has been considered as a positive step influencing the public awareness and encouraging the civic engagement for more participation in governmental decision making. In addition, this has been seen as an opportunity for the citizens to voice out their concerns and problems leading for the first time to not-politically motivated public protests.

Television was highly influential; approximately 80 percent of the public obtained its news and information from television. However, despite the large number of newspapers and other written/broadcast media in Albania, none are completely immune from political or financial pressure. Despite some improvements, the majority of stations were one-sided in their political coverage. Allegations of Government attempts to influence media reporting, through generally subtle forms of pressure (financial and fiscal pressure for example), or through systematic recourse to defamation suits, have continued. Albania should take further steps to encourage the development of a sustainable and professional media through: update and enhance legislation relating to printed and electronic media, taking into account EU standards as appropriate;