News
Albania: New Registration and Temporary Accommodation Centre for Migrants
30 October 2019
Kapshtica, Albania - A Registration and Temporary Accommodation Centre for irregular migrants was inaugurated yesterday, close to the border crossing point with Greece. The Centre was established by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Albania, in partnership with the Ministry of Interior and with funding from the Migrant and Refugee Fund (MRF).
The facility comprises 17 fully equipped units and will host 60 people. One unit is for registration, ten for accommodation, two are sanitary blocks (one for men and one for women); there are also two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a laundry unit. The registration room includes four fully equipped work posts. All the accommodation containers are equipped with beds, mattresses, bed-sheets, pillows, quilts, and blankets. Each bathroom and sanitary container have five toilets plus one more for migrants with disabilities. All containers are equipped with fire extinguishers and two fire hydrants are installed at the centre. In addition, two minivans have been provided by IOM in order to facilitate the transfer of migrants to and from the centre for any additional services needed.
“This centre is an example of IOM’s commitment. The main objective here is to ensure that migrants and refugees receive the support and services they need,” stated Ms. Argentina Szabados, IOM Regional Director for Eastern Europe, South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia, at the inauguration of the centre. “The centre guarantees that people on the move are treated with dignity. It ensures access to shelter, medical support, and safety.”
“Projects like this one are of crucial importance. They help us do a better job, while help Albania to achieve higher standards on migration governance, in its European aspirations. Migrants rights have always been and continue to be at the core of the Government of Albania efforts on migration governance, embedded also in the recently approved National Strategy on Migration”, said Ms. Rovena Voda, Deputy Minister of Interior of Albania
“In October 2015, at the height of the refugee crisis, the CEB established a €28-million Migrant and Refugee Fund (MRF) to support its member countries in accommodating and/ or integrating migrants and refugees who arrive on their territories. Twenty-two CEB member countries and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have contributed to the MRF, alongside the CEB, with Germany, France, and Italy at the forefront. €22 million have been allocated to projects located along the Balkan route, in line with the Bank’s mandate to support the most vulnerable and in need of financial resources. This is one of these projects and one of many that we worked with IOM. We are pleased to see today that the MRF delivers on its promise,” said Stephan Sellen, Deputy Director of the Loans and Social Development Directorate with the Council of Europe Development Bank.
The IOM will also provide capacity building activities to the Border and Migration police officers on management of migration flows in line with relevant European and international standards. The trainings will focus on humanitarian border management, fundamental rights of migrants, cultural orientation, identification, and referral of vulnerable migrants in mixed migration flows, in particular migrant children, single parents with children, the elderly, and migrants with medical conditions.
At the national level, the project is contributing to Albania’s efforts to achieve orderly, safe, and responsible migration and mobility of people through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies.
More information on IOM Albania is available here while further details on the project can be obtained by contacting infotirana@iom.int.
Set up in 1956, the CEB (Council of Europe Development Bank) has 41 member states. Twenty-two Central, Eastern and South Eastern European countries, forming the Bank's target countries, are listed among the member states. As a major instrument of the policy of solidarity in Europe, the Bank finances social projects by making available resources raised in conditions reflecting the quality of its rating (AA+ with Fitch Ratings, outlook positive, AAA with Standard & Poor's, outlook stable and Aa1 with Moody's, outlook stable). It thus grants loans to its member states, and to financial institutions and local authorities in its member states for the financing of projects in the social sector, in accordance with its Articles of Agreement.