TIRANA, June 4 /ATA/ –By I. Vata/ – The Albanian government has made the fight against corruption a top priority, Justice Minister Etilda Gjonaj said in an interview with the Voice of America, as she attended the Special session of the United Nations’ General Assembly against corruption.
Justice Minister acknowledged that the ongoing process has led to dismissal of many magistrates, but she described it a price worth paying in order to overhaul the country’s justice system and clean it from corrupt judges and prosecutors with links to organized crime.
Speaking about Albania’s participation in the UN General Assembly session against corruption and what Albania could offer to this session, Gjonaj noted “this is the first time the General Assembly hosts a special session against corruption to discuss measures every country should take to deliver in the fight against graft.”
“In my political statement, I affirmed readiness of the Albanian government not only for the fact that the government has made fight against corruption a top priority, but also our commitment to provide all the conditions, not only to prevent corruption, but also combat it, when also linked with money laundering, and sequestration of the crime proceeds and assets generated through illicit activities, which were on focus of the special UN General Assembly session,” Gjonaj said.
Gjonaj underlined that corruption is a global phenomenon as representatives of various countries underlined in the speeches they delivered at the General Assembly session.
“It is not that we are optimistic, but we outlined a series of measures Albania has adopted to combat corruption. We all definitely agree that the fight against corruption begins with independent, impartial and corruption-free justice system. Albania’s commitment is clearly demonstrated through its approach to combat corruption, starting with the judicial reform, establishment of new justice bodies tasked with fighting high-level corruption, and by revolutionizing the public service delivery systems through online platforms, or a series of mechanisms designed to prevent corruption practices,” she said.
/VOA/u.sh/
