The Government of Albania does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period; therefore Albania remained on Tier 2. These efforts included updating standard operating procedures (SOPs) for victim identification and referral, allocating funding for victim coordinators in every prosecution office starting in 2019, and institutionalizing training on trafficking within the Border and Migration Police (BMP).
The government also doubled the budget for the Office of the National AntiTrafficking Coordinator (ONAC) and adopted the 2018-2020 national action plan. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. The government continued to investigate, prosecute, and convict fewer cases, leading to the lowest level of reported law enforcement actions in four years. Additionally, the government lacked proactive identification efforts and law enforcement, in particular, did not consistently participate in mobile victim identification units or consistently screen vulnerable populations. The government continued to delay funding for NGO-run shelters and did not consistently apply victim-centered approaches to investigations and prosecutions.
Adapted from TIP 2019 by the U.S. Department of State
