Civil society urged to be more active

TIRANA, April 3 – The international institutions are insisting that civic organizations should be more active in the country’s life.
Earlier this week the Ombudsman Institution in Albania signed an agreement with the civil society organizations as a first step in the process of establishing a National Commission for Human Rights, as an advisory body to the Ombudsman.
The Commission will make the analysis of proposed draft legislation and monitor the implementation in practice of legislation.
Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tirana Marco Leidekker said that, “Any State that establishes an Ombudsman’s Institution and endows it with sufficient powers, resources and support assumes its own fallibility, and therefore deserves praise.”
“Best impact comes when all actors join their forces, institutions and civil society alike,” he said.
The new Ombudsman Igli Totozani elected by the end of last year in the post has taken many initiatives in protecting human rights like those of the Roma or the gay communities.