AMA’s Chair, Ms. Armela Krasniqi, took part in a roundtable held at the Parliament of Albania on the topic “Strengthening Albania’s legal framework against racism and hate speech: Parliamentary dialogue for alignment with European standards”, organized by the Council of Europe. This roundtable was organized within the framework of the joint EU/CoE programme, “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.
This event brought together members of the Parliament, representatives of independent institutions, civil society organizations and international partners, who discussed concrete legislative and public policy priorities in line with European standards.
The Audiovisual Media Authority’s Chair emphasized that combating all forms of discrimination and the use of hate speech remains a priority in the daily work of the institution she leads. This commitment is carried out through the implementation of the applicable legislation, monitoring audiovisual content, complaint handling, media literacy initiatives, as well as through projects supporting civil society and inter-institutional cooperation.
“Over the past three years, audiovisual content monitoring has resulted in 13 fines and 39 Attention Drawn for cases involving hate speech and racism. Meanwhile, in addressing public complaints, 3 Attention Drawn have been issued for 8 registered cases and the removal of audiovisual materials has been requested in cases where violations were identified”, said Krasniqi.
She added that the development of technology and new communication forms have increased challenges for both institutions and the public, making the coordination of actions and the undertaking of joint initiatives to address these phenomena even more important.
“I call on citizens to report any instances of hate speech, discrimination, or violations of dignity in audiovisual broadcasts through the online form on the Authority’s official website. Every complaint will be treated as a priority and in full compliance with the applicable legal obligations”, said AMA’s Chair.
During the roundtable, the findings from the Comparative Analysis of Anti-Racism Policies in Albania were presented by expert Dorian Matlija, along with a study on hate speech by the Commissioner for Protection against Discrimination, Robert Gajda. These presentations provided a comprehensive overview of the current situation and offered concrete recommendations for strengthening inter-institutional cooperation in the fight against racism, discrimination and hate speech.
