The Know-how Exchange Programme project financed by Italy through the CEI Fund at the EBRD successfully concluded its activities yesterday, during a virtual conference where results were presented to sector stakeholders in the two target countries.
Albania acquired the status of a candidate for EU membership in 2014. This has set many challenges to meet the EU standards in many sectors including the quality of life of citizens, full access to their rights, equality and effectiveness. Despite the range of legislation and policies in place, persons with disabilities face multiple barriers in social, economic and political inclusion in the country.
In this framework, the project targeted the Commissioner for the Protection from Discrimination (CPD), the equality body in Albania, established in 2010 as an independent public institution, which has the authority to observe the equality and non-discrimination principle in relation to a non-exhaustive list of grounds, including disability, in employment, education and provision of goods and services.
Although CPD has made recommendations for improving the general situation of persons with disabilities, and concrete requests have been made feasible, in Albania there is still a need to improve and raise capacities to propose appropriate interventions.
To this end, the CEI Project - led by the Croatian Ombudsman for Persons with Disabilities - aimed at improving the competences of CDP in the area of disability management including legislation; it focused on increasing the awareness of key stakeholders in the sector; and provided CPD with expertise in conducting, monitoring and compiling reports on the implementation of national and international legislation for persons with disabilities.
For more info: dovier@cei.int