TIRANA, July 13 /ATA/ – By A. Fortuzi/ The Ministry of Interior signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Refugee Agency on Monday in the light of Albania’s commitments to support refugees and end statelessness.
Although both institutions have appreciated the cooperation and support over the years, this Memorandum will serve to promote a closer cooperation in the light of Albania’s commitments to the Global Refugee Forum in December 2019 and the High Level Segment on Statelessness in October 2019.
At the Global Refugee Forum, Albania committed itself to the most effective integration of refugees, thus enabling their contribution to the continuous development of Albania, as well as the strengthening of asylum procedures.
“In the High-Level Segment on Statelessness, Albania engaged in legal alignment with the Conventions on Statelessness, the establishment of a procedure to define statelessness and full access to birth registration procedures for those at risk of statelessness,” Voda added.
The memorandum lays down the cooperation between the two institutions in activities aimed at fulfilling the above commitments and objectives. Priority areas of cooperation between the Ministry and UNHCR during the period 2020-2021 include technical support for asylum procedures, technical support for drafting bylaws related to the forthcoming Asylum and Citizenship Laws, training and support for Border Police officers, and Migration, as well as improving the services provided to vulnerable asylum seekers in reception centers.
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