On 15 October 2020 the Parliament of Albania adopted the changes to the Law on “Protection from Discrimination”, following an initiative by the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination. Enacted on 18th November 2020 the reinforced legislation foresees new forms of discrimination and is expected to formalize the Commissioner's practice regarding forms of discrimination, to expand the protected causes and to create opportunities for raising issues of structured discrimination by CSOs and Commissioner’s Office. It increases the responsibility of public and private entities not only with regards to non-discrimination, but also for the promotion of equality. Ultimately, it enhances the scope and efficiency of the complaints’ procedures.

The legal expertise provided in the context of the joint European Union and Council of Europe Action on “Promotion of Diversity and Equality in Albania” largely contributed in bringing the law in conformity with the European Convention for Human Rights and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommendation, as part of a wider CoE’s cooperation assistance to improve the implementation of anti-discrimination policies and legislation, at the central and local level in Albania, especially on protection of the rights of LGBTI persons, and on combating hate speech/hate crime.

The action on Promotion of Diversity and Equality in Albania is part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.