Coalition efforts lead to the adoption of legal amendments to civil status law by the Parliament of Albania
Albanian Government representatives, Civil Society, UNICEF and UNHCR participate in a roundtable to discuss amendments to the civil status law ©UNICEF/ David Gvineria
On October 11th 2018, the Parliament of Albania adopted legal amendments to the country’s civil status law, which removes barriers to birth registration, thereby reducing the risk of childhood statelessness in Albania, particularly for children of Albanian parents born outside the country and for children of the Roma and Egyptian communities.
The amendments followed a baseline study by UNHCR and the Tirana Legal Aid Society followed by a period of consultation with the Friends of Children Parliamentary Group facilitated by UNICEF, UNCHR and national NGO partners, working together as part of the Coalition on Every Child’s Right to a Nationality.
Coalition partners provided technical assistance as well as advocated for the changes. As well as ensuring the successful passage of the amendments, the work of UNCHR and UNICEF raised public awareness of the issue of statelessness in Albania. In the coming months, the Coalition will continue to work with government partners to develop bylaws and policies to implement the positive changes made by the amendments.
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