Centre for Legal Empowerment, following its work for the empowerment and active participation of the Roma community in Albania, was invited to the “Western Balkans Roma Summit” organized by Civil Rights Defenders, on November 17-18, 2022, in Pristina, to introduce and familiarize the participants with the commitment and work of dedicated to the challenges of empowering the Roma community in our country.
The Executive Director of CLE, Mr. Franc Terihati, during his speech, presented a complete overview of the concrete work of CLE in support of the Roma community, from legal empowerment, legal assistance, and the final solution of some court battles where the community has been victorious and beneficial.
Housing and the instability of settlement that this community has, has made precisely the issue of housing and ownership a major problem for the Roma families. In many cases, due to the economic impossibility and the migratory approach that the Roma community has, housing and ownership of property for members of this community remains an ongoing problem in Albania, a spectrum in which the network of lawyers and jurists has been engaged for years to addressed and resolved.
In Tirana, through the dedicated work of lawyers, 3 families of the Roma community in Selitë, whose homes were demolished in 2016 due to the construction of the “Great Ring”, were recognized the right to compensation for the damage, by the Court to a total value of ALL 15,203,555.
In Pogradec, 10 families sheltered since 1990 in the building of the former Red Stone Mine Hotel in Memelisht, were evicted from their homes, ending up on the street, after the decision to auction this building by the Alb-Miniera company, who acted as the owner of the building. The work of our lawyers in this battle started with the objective of suspending the auction of the building in order to continue with the process of recognition of ownership of the families. In conclusion, the Court recognized the right of ownership to the 10 evicted families, a process that paved the way for the final ban on the eviction of the other 30 families who lived in this building.
The concrete and direct work of the lawyers of CLE has borne its fruits by creating not only cases of success but also important legal precedents in preserving, protecting, and consolidating the rights of the Roma community in our country. “Working with the Roma community is not simply a procedural matter, it requires a lot of dedication, involvement and sincerity. We have tried to be not only the advocates of their cases for this community, but reliable partners in the journey full of challenges and difficulties for them. The work with the community and the achieved results that have directly affected the quality of life of the families, motivates us every day to be by their side whenever they need and not only, but to be by their side also to empower them in the legal aspect for coping with the possible problems that may be faced in the future.” – said the Executive Director of CLE during the speech at the “Western Balkan Summit for Roma”.
The summit brings together representatives of the Roma community, civil society, and decision-makers from across the region every year to discuss work and social activism for the inclusion and equality of the Roma community in our societies. You can read more about this activity by clicking here.
You can also read more about the cases attended by CLE in the framework of the empowerment of the Roma community by clicking on here and also here.
CLE’s work on this issue continues and the participation in the summit was a good opportunity to discuss and share ideas on how we can act together as a civil society in support of the Roma community.
