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Albania

Albania was the only country of Europe which, at the time of the Helsinki Final Act was negotiated, chose not to participate in the diplomatic process and was therefore not part of the original focus of the Helsinki Commission focus. This changed dramatically once the country began to express interest in becoming a participating and re-establishing ties with the United States as the Cold War was ending in 1990. 

A Helsinki Commission delegation to Albania in 1990 was the first U.S. Government agency visit to the country since relations were severed in 1946 and predated the actual re-establishment of bilateral relations by approximately six months. The Helsinki Commission organized congressional delegation visits again in 1991 and 1994.   Commission staff have observed every parliamentary election in Albania since the first ones were conducted on a multi-party basis in 1991, and the Co-Chairman at the time, Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL) joined the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly observation team for the June 2009 elections.

Early visits as well as high-profile Commission hearings and briefings on Albania in Washington in the last two decades have given the Helsinki Commission more prominence within Albania than most of the other countries it follows, and the Commission’s views were considered vital to the decision to extend OSCE membership to Albania in 1991. The Commission’s role is further enhanced by Albania’s strongly pro-American sympathies based on U.S. support for Albania’s statehood a century ago, more recent support for Kosovo the ongoing work of Voice of America, and the activism of the Albanian-America community.

Albania has made considerable strides since 1990 and is now a NATO ally, but the Commission has remained particularly concerned over the continued lack of respect for the rule of law and the related tolerance of official corruption and organized crime. For example, Albania has been both a major source- and transit-country for human trafficking.  Despite significant efforts, there is little confidence that Albania’s electoral process leads to results that could be considered as meeting the OSCE’s free and fair standards.  While the media is largely free, very little of it is considered to be objective and independent from political forces.  Civil society organizations can gain little following in such a divided atmosphere, and their members are often vulnerable to cooption by leading political parties.

Ethnic Albanians have a mix of Muslim (70%), Eastern Orthodox (20%) and Roman Catholic (10%) religious and cultural heritage, but very much in contrast see themselves as being of same Albania nationality despite these differences.  This has allowed for considerable religious freedom and openness to outside faiths including those brought by American evangelicals.  Some analysts have raised concern about a “Greater Albania,” but nationalist sentiments can be more commonly found in the Albanian populations of the countries of the former Yugoslavia – such as Kosovo, Macedonia, southern Serbia and Montenegro – than in Albania itself.

Staff Contact: Bob Hand, senior policy advisor

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Press Releases

Cardin, Shaheen, Wicker Introduce New Bipartisan Bil...

Aug 04, 2022

WASHINGTON – Helsinki Commission Chairman Ben Cardin (MD) with Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation and member of the Helsinki Commission, introduced new bipartisan legislation with Helsinki Commission Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (MS) called the Western Balkans Democracy and Prosperity Act. This legislation would […]

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Hearings

Sweden’s Leadership of the OSCE

Jun 11, 2021

In 2021, Sweden chairs the world’s largest regional security organization—the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)—which comprises 57 participating States stretching from North America, across Europe, and to Central Asia and Mongolia. Even as the OSCE begins to emerge from the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is tackling other critical challenges, including Russia’s ongoing […]

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Press Releases

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde to Appear at Hels...

Jun 03, 2021

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following online hearing: SWEDEN’S LEADERSHIP OF THE OSCE Priorities for 2021 Friday, June 11, 2021 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Watch Live: https://www.youtube.com/HelsinkiCommission In 2021, Sweden chairs the world’s largest regional security organization—the Organization for Security and Cooperation […]

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Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Commemorates 45 Years of Advanci...

Jun 03, 2021

WASHINGTON—To commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, on June 3, Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD) and commission leaders Sen. Roger Wicker (MS) and Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) issued the following statements: “The Helsinki Commission has played a vital role in elevating […]

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Articles

OSCE Ministerial Council Appoints Top Leaders, Adopt...

Dec 21, 2020

By Shannon Simrell, Representative of the Helsinki Commission to the U.S. Mission to the OSCE Foreign ministers of the 57 OSCE participating States convened on December 3 – 4, 2020, for the 27th OSCE Ministerial Council. For the first time, this annual gathering was convened in an entirely virtual format due to the challenges posed […]

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Hearings

Albania’s Chairmanship of the OSCE

Sep 17, 2020

In 2020, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has faced the unprecedented challenge of a global pandemic while many participating States struggle—or fail—to live up to their commitments in the areas of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.  In this context, the Helsinki Commission held its traditional hearing with the […]

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Press Releases

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to Appear at Helsin...

Sep 09, 2020

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following online hearing: ALBANIA’S CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE OSCE Responding to the Multiple Challenges of 2020 Thursday, September 17, 2020 1:00 p.m. Watch Live: www.youtube.com/HelsinkiCommission In 2020, Albania holds the chairmanship of the world’s largest regional security organization—the Organization […]

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Briefings

Albania’s Leadership in Europe

Dec 11, 2019

Each year, one participating State of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is selected by the others to chair the 57-member organization. Since the role of OSCE “Chair-in-Office” was inaugurated in 1991, the organization has responded to numerous conflicts and crises in the Western Balkans. As the holder of the 2020 Chairmanship, […]

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Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Briefing to Provide Parliamentar...

Dec 05, 2019

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following staff-led briefing: ALBANIA’S LEADERSHIP IN EUROPE Parliamentary Perspectives of the Albanian OSCE Chairmanship in 2020 Wednesday, December 11, 2019 2:00 p.m. Rayburn House Office Building ROOM CHANGE: NOW ROOM 2200 Live Webcast: www.facebook.com/HelsinkiCommission Each year, one participating […]

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Articles

2019 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting

Sep 13, 2019

From September 16 to September 27, OSCE participating States will meet in Warsaw, Poland, for the 2019 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM), organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).  As Europe’s largest annual human rights conference, the HDIM brings together hundreds of government and nongovernmental representatives, international experts, and human […]

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Press Releases

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem D...

Jul 17, 2019

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following hearing: STATE OF MEDIA FREEDOM IN THE OSCE REGION Thursday, July 25, 2019 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Capitol Visitor Center Room HVC-210 Live Webcast: www.youtube.com/HelsinkiCommission Journalists working in the 57 participating States of the Organization for […]

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Publications

The Helsinki Process: A Four Decade Overview

Jun 28, 2019

In August 1975, the heads of state or government of 35 countries – the Soviet Union and all of Europe except Albania, plus the United States and Canada – held a historic summit in Helsinki, Finland, where they signed the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. This document is known […]

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