Human Rights Watch Criticizes Italy-Albania Asylum Seeker Agreement

Human Rights Watch Criticizes Italy-Albania Asylum Seeker Agreement

Human Rights Watch on Thursday criticized Italy’s agreement to send asylum seekers to Albania, labeling the pact a “model of mismanagement” and a “blueprint for abuse.” The immigration deal, signed last November, aims to transfer asylum seekers from Italy to Albania, where their Italian asylum requests will be processed. Over the five-year duration of the deal, 36,000 asylum seekers will be sent from Italy to the Albanian port of Shengjin. Italy will oversee the construction of a holding centre in Albania, which will also function as an asylum processing centre. Italy will fully control these centres and ensure the security of all asylum seekers sent to Albania.

According to the agreement, Italy will transfer asylum seekers from countries it deems safe. This list includes 22 countries such as Cameroon, Morocco, Egypt, Kosovo, Colombia, and Georgia. Albania’s parliament approved the deal in late February, despite a boycott by opposition lawmakers who argued that it posed a national security risk.

During a visit to the site, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the scheme as a model for other European nations to follow. She provided an update on the progress of the scheme, stating, “The two centers in Albania will be operational from August 1st. We start with a thousand, then three thousand more.”