Albania: Roma families at risk of forced eviction
Around 37 Roma families in Albania are being threatened with forced eviction. The land where they live is about to be redeveloped. The landowner has not respected procedures set out in law, and the authorities have not taken measures to provide the Roma with any alternative housing.
UA: 211/13 Index: EUR 11/001/2013 Albania Date: 5 August 2013
URGENT ACTION
ROMA FAMILIES AT RISK OF FORCED EVICTION
Around 37 Roma families in Albania are being threatened with forced eviction. The land
where they live is about to be redeveloped. The landowner has not respected procedures
set out in law, and the authorities have not taken measures to provide the Roma with any
alternative housing.
The Roma families, some of whom have lived for 10 years on the site of the former Centre for the Realization of
Works of Art in Rruga Kavaja, Tirana, the capital, are due to be forcibly evicted. They have been told their homes
will be demolished on 7 August by the development company, Park Construction Albania. Some have already left
after their homes were demolished.
According to information received from the People’s Advocate (Ombudsperson), construction work has already
started on part of the site, and the company has restricted access to parts of the site for which planning permission
has been obtained, which means that Roma cannot freely come and go. The company informed the People’s
Advocate that they will close off the rest of the site as soon as final planning permission is granted, and they want
the Roma families to be gone by then. Despite requests by the People’s Advocate that the landowner follow
relevant legal and judicial processes, the company claims that that it has no obligations to the Roma, who are
occupying the land and have no legal title to it.
However, international standards for forced evictions apply irrespective of whether a person is occupying the land
lawfully or unlawfully. Further, although Albania does not have a law preventing forced evictions, under Albanian
law, the owner of the land is obliged to provide the Roma living there with 10 days notice. None of the families has
yet been provided any adequate or formal notice of eviction. Instead they have been threatened by construction
company workers, and several Roma have already filed complaints with the local police station.
Please write immediately in English or your own language to:
Urging the authorities to ensure that some 30-40 Roma families currently living in the Rruga Kavaja in
Tirana are not forcibly evicted without a judicial decision, due advance notice, and information about legal
remedies available;
Calling on them to ensure that any eviction is carried out in accordance with international standards,
including the UN Guidelines on Development-Based Evictions and Resettlement, and in accordance with Albanian
law, following a decision by the relevant court.
Urging that they provide alternative housing, which meets international standards for adequate housing, for
these families, after having duly consulted with them;
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 30 AUGUST 2013 TO:
Mayor of Tirana
Z.Lulzim Basha
Blvd. Dëshmorët e Kombit, Tirana,
Albania
Email: kabineti@tirana.gov.al
Salutation: Dear Mr Basha
Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and
Equal Opportunities
Z.Spiro Ksera
Ministër i Punës, Cështjeve Sociale dhe
Shanseve te Barabarta
Rruga e Kavajës, Tirana, Albania
Email: spiroksera@yahoo.gr or
klevesbitro@yahoo.com
Salutation: Dear Minister
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
URGENT ACTION
ROMA FAMILIES AT RISK OF FORCED EVICTION
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
A spokeswoman for the development company, Park Construction Albania, told the People’s Advocate that it has asked the
state police to intervene and remove the Roma. However, in order to do so, the company must apply to a court. The police may
only act to assist the court bailiffs in an eviction, and only after a judicial decision for enforcement proceedings has been issued.
The company have said that if the state police fails to act, it will call on the services of private police.
According to Article 296 of the Albanian Civil Code: “The owner has the right to bring action against in order to demand his
property from any possessor or holder. This right belongs also to any joint owner for the joint property, in order that it be
delivered to all joint owners”. In this case only the court may issue decide to evict individuals from a certain property. If the court
considers that the area belongs to the owner, then in that case the court may request the intervention of bailiffs to free the area.
The Albanian government has a duty to abide by international law including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, ratified by Albania in 1991 (Article 11.1) and General Comment 4 on Article 11.1 of the United Nations
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). Furthermore, Albanian has undertaken to fulfil the objectives of
the "Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015", an initiative of 12 European countries to improve the socio-economic status of
Romani communities, and has adopted a (Albanian) National Strategy "For the improvement of the living conditions of the Roma
minority".
Under international law, evictions may be carried out only as a last resort, once other alternatives have been explored in
genuine consultation with the affected communities. The authorities then have a duty to provide them with adequate notice. The
authorities must ensure that no families are made homeless or vulnerable to the violation of other human rights as a
consequence of eviction. This includes providing them with legal remedies, including provision of compensation for the
destruction of their homes, possessions and loss of income.
Name: 30-40 Roma families living Rruga Kavaja, Tirana.
Gender m/f: both
UA: 211/13 Index: EUR 11/001/2013 Issue Date: 5 August 2013