This spotlight report, which is carried out within the framework of the High-Level Political Forum 2020, aims to shed light on the level of implementation of some Sustainable Development Goals, based on a national context and the current situation of the LGBTI+ community, as part of the commitment of the Albanian state to the Agenda 2030.
First, we acknowledge the effort of the Government of Albania in its involvement in the Sustainable Development Framework, through the National Strategy for Develop- ment, and Integration and the Sustainable Development Cooperation Program. We appreciate the concrete measures taken in favor of the LGBTI+ cause, especially in the international context, and specifically for its membership in the LGBTI+ Core Group in New York, among 29-member states from around the world.
This engagement of the Government of Albania which is fairly unfamiliar in the national context, and almost unknown to LGBTI+ individuals and organizations in Albania is in fact crucial. As pointed out in the joint statement of the 29 states, in the course of the renewal of the m, andate of the UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation , and Gender Identity, where Albania can also be found among the parties that voted in favor of the renewal , and the statement’s signatories, an inclusive society enables everyone, including LGBTI individuals, to be protected from violence , and discrimination , and to have full access to the enjoyment of human rights , and fundamental freedoms1. We encourage the Government of Albania to bring more transparency in the future regarding its position and engagement at these levels, through public stances, which are of excep- tional importance for every LGBTI+ person living in Albania.
The object of this report is to measure the level of implementation of SDGs 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10, based on their own spectrum of action, which affects very important, and deli- cate issues, such as health, education, employment, the specific situation of LBTI women and girls as well as taking concrete measures of a legalistic nature in favor of the problems that LGBTI+ individuals face nowadays.
The Agenda 2030 has entered its last decade of action, and as can be seen from the theme chosen by the HLPF for this year, member states in this 10-year period are expected to take accelerated measures and pursue transformative pathways towards full compliance with the objectives to which they are committed. As the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights states it, the obligation of states to address violence and discrim- ination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity remains deeply inter- twined with the main principle of the Agenda 2030 to not disregard anyone2.
In drafting the present report, we applied qualitative and quantitative methods of scientific research, combining the review of the bulk of annual reports of partner organiza- tions for the period 2015-2020, databases available from the LGBT Alliance, various legal acts, and international literature regarding the sustainable development platform and LGBTI+ issues.