On 6 September, Council of Europe Office in Tirana delivered two online courses under the Council of Europe HELP online training platform. 

• The online HELP/UNHCR course on Asylum and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which is carried out in close cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;
• The online training course on Business and Human Rights.

The course on Asylum will help Albanian professionals to develop a better understanding of the rights attributed to the asylum seekers and foreigners in general; it will further increase their capacity to propose changes to the legislation and implement to the extent possible existing rules and procedures in line with international human rights principles and best practice developed by international bodies.

The course on Business & Human Rights will raise awareness among professionals who are directly or indirectly involved in business issues in Albania. It will help lawyers, NGO activists, etc. to provide effective access to justice for the victims of business Human Rights violations.

The opening ceremony for both HELP platform online training courses took place on 6 September 2017. Senior officials from the partner institutions attended the ceremony and shared their thoughts on the current challenges and best practice relating to the training topics as seen from their institutional perspective.

The training courses will involve representatives of responsible ministries, the People’s Advocate, the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination, the School of Magistrates, the School of Advocates, the Police Academy and civil society.

The training course is carried out in the context of the EU/CoE joint Project “Enhancing the efficiency of the Albanian system of Human Rights Protection and Anti-discrimination, with the engagement of the regional HELP Programme for Western Balkans and Turkey.

The courses are available for free and accessible on the HELP Platform.