Today, 8 March, we celebrate International Women`s Day, a commemorative day that emerged from the women`s activist movements at the turn of the twentieth century. The theme for this year`s International Women`s Day is `Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All` – a theme of utmost relevance for all societies around the world, including Albania. It evokes the importance not only of recognizing equal rights of men and women, but also of giving each woman and man equal chances to develop and advance, and reach his or her potential in life.

Yet too often, men and women start from different positions – lower employment opportunities, glass ceilings in the work place and lower pay for women; fewer opportunities for participation in politics; lack of protection for women from violence in the home; inequitable access to social services and social protection; ; preferential treatment for boys to get education before girls. These inequalities are exacerbated for women from minorities, women with disabilities, women in poverty and gay women, all of whom face multiple forms of discrimination.

A continuing struggle for women in Albania relates to domestic violence. A recent national sample survey of INSTAT shows that over half of Albanian women suffer some form of violence in the home, either physical or psychological. For those women and girls, family life that is supposed to be productive, protective and harmonious often means physical, sexual and emotional violence at the hands of an intimate partner or other family members. Domestic violence takes the form of physical abuse, but also can involve persistent belittlement and humiliation, and isolation of women from traditional supports such as other family members and friends. Sometimes it may involve degradation and even homicide. In Albania, 15 cases of women being killed due to domestic violence have been reported in the past two years.

Much has been done to respond to this phenomenon. .With the entering into force of a domestic violence law in 2007, there is an increasing recognition that domestic violence is to not simply a family issue but rather one where the State has a clear responsibility to protect. In this regard, police, court and other officials have received training and shelters have been increasingly supported. Education programmes have been launched to start to deal with negative social attitudes leading to violence. Yet domestic violence remains a significant problem to the equal enjoyment of rights between men and women. Media reporting has not always been responsible in this field. Further, it is essential that Government do more to take ownership of the fight against domestic violence, including through increasing its budget support for such programmes.

In this context, it is with great enthusiasm that the UN welcomes the adoption by Parliament last month of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law. It is fitting that the law, now promulgated by the President, comes into force this week on 13 March. The law protects everyone from discrimination whatever their sex, religious belief, race, nationality, health status, disability, sexual orientation or political opinion. It protects equal rights for all in employment, education, access to goods and services, the media and political participation. Together with the Gender Equality Law adopted in 2008, and the domestic violence law, it provides comprehensive legislative to promote equal rights and equal opportunities for women.

Laws in themselves are of course not enough. That is why the Law places a duty on the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, the Ministry of Education and Science as well as school directors and employers in the private and public sectors to raise consciousness about the law and its objective of promoting equality. Achieving the objectives of equality takes time, but by raising awareness of equality, discriminatory barriers in society can be progressively broken and replaced with new norms.

An important innovation in the Law is the creation of a Commissioner for the Protection from Discrimination who can receive complaints from any person or group claiming discrimination. The creation of this Commissioner holds great potential to secure equality more rapidly and effectively. Significantly, making a complaint to the Commissioner will be procedurally easy and free. The process of examining the complaint and receiving a decision will be quick – as rapid as three months from submitting the complaint. And the Commissioner can award fines. A timely and user-friendly complaint mechanism can help women and others to take action for themselves to protect their rights and to enforce the message that discrimination is no longer acceptable.

I would encourage the Assembly to move quickly to elect a truly independent Commissioner and provide the Commissioner`s Office with adequate resources for its proper functioning.

Yet it is not only for the Assembly or the Government to promote equal rights and equal opportunities. All of us have to consider how we can break down the barriers in society that obstruct women`s progress and equality. As Albania moves towards EU accession, such a reflection is critical.

Photo: United Nations Resident Coordinator Ms. Gülden Turkoz-Cosslett