Showing the support of the Council of Europe for the promotion of effective protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity in employment and occupation, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tirana, Claus Neukirch, participated at the award ceremony of the 2017 LGBTIQ Equality Index. The Gala event for the award of ten companies was organized by the HeadHunter Group on 5 September, at the Palace of Brigades, Tirana. The event gathered representatives of participant companies, international organisations, state institutions, civil society and media. In its second year, the index involved over 109 companies setting a solid ground in promoting anti-discrimination standards in the workplace for the LGBTI community and beyond.

Awarding the silver prize to ABCOM Company, Mr Neukirch underlined that “While it is very important for international organisations and its member states to set standards and adopt legislative measures to promote the rights of LGBTI people, it is even more important for private and public institutions to implement them.” He commended all the participating companies for being part of this initiative calling for even greater participation in 2018.

Over the last years, the Council of Europe has assisted the Albanian authorities’ efforts in aligning the domestic policies, legislation and practices with the European standards. Pursuant to its assistance in drafting the National Action Plan on LGBTI (adopted in May 2016), a EU/CoE provided action under the Horizontal Facility aims inter alia at Building the capacity of the authorities to implement the National Action Plan; Improving investigation and prosecution of hate crime towards LGBTI people; Increasing public awareness on discrimination suffered by LGBTI people in the country. In its Recommendation (2010)5 on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity the CoE’s Committee of Ministers has among others provided recommendations on equality at the work place with regard to sexual orientation or gender identity.