Albania: Association of Women in Albanian State Police Makes Significant Progress Since Last ICITAP Visit

On April 28, ICITAP’s Women, Peace, and Security & Global Programs Unit provided an update on progress made in Albania by the Association of Women in the Albanian State Police (AWASP) since ICITAP’s Engaging Multinational Police Women on Equality and Rights (EMPoWER) Program deployed to Tirana to help establish AWASP in February 2023. The working group consists of representatives from the 12 regional police directorates and meets virtually once a month with the ICITAP EMPoWER team and also communicates frequently together via text. On April 27, eight members of the working group met for more than two hours virtually with three ICITAP EMPoWER Advisors to review the statute that is required to register the Association and to formulate next steps. The group has developed a statute to codify the Association bylaws with the assistance of ICITAP EMPoWER, which has done similar work with the women's police association in Kosovo. The Albanian group is using the Kosovo example as a framework for its structure, and they have had conversations with a female Colonel of Kosovo Police and other members of the Kosovo association to benefit from their experience. The two countries are already working together on this project. In addition, the women have collaborated with their counterparts in the women's police association in Montenegro for information on their group. Thus far, the AWASP has devised the structure of the group, laid out in 28 Articles of its bylaws including categories of membership, fees, treasury, purpose and activities, and various protocols and rules for its Executive Council. There will be further discussion among the working group before the next virtual meeting on specific term limits for the Executive Council. The women are incredibly energized by their roles in creating this Association.