Albania takes strides toward equality

TIRANA – Albania’s new anti-discrimination law defends gays and minorities and meets European Union standards, its sponsors said on Friday, but warned that homophobia is rife and winning over the public will be slow.

Albanian rights groups and the Alliance against the Discrimination of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) welcomed the law as a powerful legal tool to protect against any kind of discrimination.

Approved by the ruling Democratic Party and its allies in parliament late on Thursday, the law does not allow same-sex marriage as promised by Prime Minister Sali Berisha. Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic communities condemned the idea.

‘This law is not simply a fulfilment of requirements that Albania has undertaken for European Union integration and visa liberalisation. Above all, it is a victory for democracy and for human rights for all Albanians,’ the LGBT community said. The group hoped that Berisha would eventually keep his promise to legalise same-sex marriage.

Altin Azizaj, who runs the Children Rights Centre and had fought with parliamentarians over the role of a commissioner to monitor the law, said public and, most importantly, private institutions were now bound to respect human rights.

The bill guarantees citizens against discrimination on grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation, but has widely come to be known in Albania as the gay law because of the publicity Berisha gave their cause. — REUTERS