The document discusses the international legal framework for protecting children's rights. It outlines several key international treaties and conventions, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), that guarantee children's rights. The UNCRC defines a child as anyone under 18 and establishes principles like survival/development, protection, and considering the best interests of the child. The document also discusses how these international standards are implemented in Albania through laws and institutions for protecting children's rights.

1. The International Legal Framework on the Rights of Children
Eugena Bisha
PhD candidate, European University of Tirana
eugenabisha@yahoo.com
Abstract
Issues that affect children, have always been in
the center of the attention all around the world.
Protecting children’s rights constitutes one of the
most important directions of the social politics in the
Republic of Albania. Children in member states of
the European Council, have the right of a range of
human rights guaranteed from the European
Convention of Human Rights, United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC) and
any other state institutions dealing with human
rights. There are some legal instruments in the
International Law that guarantee the rights of the
children.
Key words: children’s rights; UNCRC; best
interes of the child; albanian law
1. Introduction
Albania ratified UNCRC in 1992 as one of the
most important instruments of the International Law.
According to article 1 of the Convention of the
United Nations on children’s rights, “…a child is a
human being under 18 years old”. Likewise, the
Family Code in compliance with the international
legislation, defines the term child to every person
who is under 18. Based on point (d ) of article 3 of
the law “Protecting the rights of the children”, “A
child is every person born alive, up to the age of 18.
In case the age of the person is not determined, but
there are reasons that imply the idea that the person
is a child, then this person is considered a child based
on this law until his/her age is determined.”
There are some legal instruments in the
International Law that guarantee the rights of the
children. Various international instruments that have
to do with children’s rights, ratified from the
Albanian state, emphasize the fact that children
conditioned from elements like: age, absence of
physical and intellectual maturity, have the need for
special protection and attention from family and state
institutions. [1] (Shegani A. 202:41)
As a result of legal reforms, the legal framework
on the rights of the children in Albania has
undergone continuous changes, aiming at getting
close to the European standards. In order to have an
adequate legal process that establishes and finalizes
an adoption, all the rights of the child protected from
the national and international law must be respected.
Maybe it is difficult to find “the perfect family” for a
child, but through adoption, attempts are made to
find the appropriate family for the child where there
is no violation of his/her rights guaranteed by law. In
most of the international conventions in relation to
the rights and well-being of the child, it is stated that
in order to protect the rights of the children, being
orphans, abandoned or without a proper family, the
best solution is adoption.
2. International legal instruments
In the preface of the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Children, it is underlined the
importance of the family in growing up, educating
and the welfare of the children. Through its various
tools, the United Nations Organization has tried to
protect as well as raise awareness of the welfare of
the children in societies. [2] The United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC) [3]
is an international treaty on human rights that
guarantees to all the children and youngsters up to 17
years old a package of rights [4] including
protection, education, health care, family
environment, development of his/her talents and
abilities, love and happiness. It is the convention
with the biggest number of ratifications in history.
The convention guarantees these basic principles:
1. The survival and development of the child
(article 6)- primary importance is given to health
care. This principle aims at the education of the
child, discovering the talents and abilities that he/she
might have and engaging him/her in cultural and
artistic centers.
2. The protection of the child (article 2)-
protection from family environments or other
environments that are not suitable for the child;
protection from psychological and physical violence.
3. The highest interest of the child (article3)
4. The engagement of the child (article 12)-
mainly with decisions that are related to the child
Children and Adoption according to the
Convention of the United Nations on the Rights of
the Children

2. According to this convention, adoption aims at
offering the child a family, not only for the sake of
having a family but where he can also feel as it was
his/her biological family. A child who is temporarily
or permanently deprived from a family environment
or it is in his/her interest not to be part of such an
environment, he/she has the right of protection and
special assistance from the state. (UN Convention on
the Rights of Children, article 20.1) Adoption is a
personalized project for the life of a child and must
be determined based on the study of the
psychological, social, emotional, health, ethno-
cultural and legal conditions and if it possible the
condition of the biological family as well.
As it is noticed from its principals, this
convention emphasizes the importance of the care
and the special assistance that a child needs. All the
other state institutions and international elements as
well as their inner legislations that have signed the
convention, are all in accordance to these rights. It is
important for the convention the fact that the child
should feel involved in decisions that adults take for
him/her. By being involved and free to express their
opinions in the process of decision-making, children
tend to easily accept the decisions made from the
adults in their interests. If plans are made for the
future of the child, he/she may feel less frightened if
he/she understands what is happening and has been
listening since the start. [4] The closer to the
maturity age the child is, the more attention must be
paid to have him/her included in the procedures that
are related with his/her future. Children can be
supplied with a simple information but always true,
and they must be told that taking into account their
opinions or decisions depends on the issue at hand.
For instance, regarding adoption, states are free to
define in their legislation the age when a child should
he asked to give his/her opinion or preference of the
adoptive family. In case of adoption, the child must
be supplied with the correct information about the
prospective adoptive parents, even though this
information should be given in a simple form to
adjust his age and capacity to understand the
information provided. The convention foresees the
compilation of National Strategies for the protection
of children from the Member States. The
International Convention on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR), among others guarantees children’s
rights and stops discrimination based on race,
gender, color, national origin or language. [5] The
rights of this convention in relation to children
include: special protection for the family, mothers
and children, the rights for an adequate standard of
living, including food, clothes and shelter, as well as
the rights to get educated. The states that ratified the
convention give periodic reports on the
implementation of the rights guaranteed in the
convention. The periodic reports are obligatory for
every state in relation to all the United Nations
Conventions that have to do with human rights. A
committee is set up for each treaty, which monitors
the implementation of the treaty in each member
state. The committees can accept individual
complains from individuals under the states’
jurisdiction that have signed the respective protocol
or have given the required declarations. [6] The
Council of Europe protects and promotes human
rights, which include the rights of children. [7] This
council promotes the Social European Card as the
main group of the minimal standards that protects
children and family rights. [8] The European Social
Card guarantees the legal, social and economic
protection of the children. Meanwhile the 1967
Convention on children adoption is the main
instrument of the Council of Europe in the adoption
field, a new document “Recommendations of the
Parliamentary Assembly 1443 on local adoption” to
respect the rights of the children, derived from the 5th
meeting of the Assembly on 26 January 2000.
In this document, it is cited: “…that is why the
Assembly calls the Committee of the Ministers of the
European Council, to give a clear indication of its
political will to ensure that the children rights are
respected, by inviting immediately the member states
to:
1. ratify The Hague Convention on adoption, in
case they haven’t done it yet, and revise its
principles and rules, even for the states that have not
ratified it;
2. to run informative campaigns in order to give
the couples and professionals that have to do with
cross-city adoption a full understanding of the
obligations and implications that The Hague
Convention imposes;
3. to develop a bilateral and multilateral
collaboration essential for the successful
implementation of the convention;
4. to help those countries, form which foreign
families come, to develop their adoption laws and to
train the staff in the public institutions, in the
accredited agencies as well as professionals involved
in adoption;
5. to make sure that the future parents are
acceptable and appropriate to adopt;
6. to make sure that in situations like a divorce of
the adoptive parents, abandonment of the adopted
child or difficulties in the adopting procedures, the
essential rights of children must be respected, such
as the right of the name and nationality;
7. to make sure that the adopted child learns
about his/her biological parents not later than his
maturity age and to eliminate from their legislation
any provision that contradicts it;
Through national and international legal
adaptations, it is aimed at preventing children
trafficking under the “adoption signature”. We can
mention here the Convention of the UN on the rights
of children; the Declaration of the UN on basic legal

3. and social principles in relation to the protection and
well-being of juveniles by paying attention to the
family care and national and international adoption;
The Hague Convention for the children protection
and collaboration in the field of international
adoption. The Constitution of Albania guarantees the
protection of children rights in several articles from
discrimination, and promotes education, identity,
protection from violence etc. [9] Article 5 of the
Family Code of the Republic of Albania foresees as
one of the most important principles the importance
of the growing up of a child in a healthy family
environment, a happy atmosphere, love and
understanding.
The Law for the Protection of the Rights of the
Children (dt.04.11.2010) is a new law that is added
to the wide range of the Albanian legislation on the
protection of the children’s rights and aims at raising
the level of the implementation of the Convention on
Children Rights. [10] The objective of this law is the
determination of the rights and protection that a child
gains, the guarantee that the mechanism responsible
for the effective protection of the rights give, as well
as the adequate care towards the children. (article 1)
The ratification of this law marks a very important
achievement in protecting the rights of the children
through the institutional and legal framework in
accordance to the Constitution of the Republic of
Albania and the Convention of the Children Rights.
The law determines the tools, measures and
institutional mechanisms that guarantee the
protection of these rights.
The Albanian legislation foresees two kinds of
mechanisms for the protection of children rights:
a) Mechanisms of central level
-The National Council on the Protection of the
Rights of Children
-The minister who directs issues in relation to the
protection of children’s rights
-The State Agency for the Protection of the Rights
of Children
b) Mechanisms of local level
-The sector for the protection of the rights of
children in the District Council
-The sector for the protection of children in the
City Hall
Albania has ratified several acts and international
conventions in relation to the protection of the
children’s rights which have brought improvements
in the context of the protection of the rights of
children by adopting them according to the European
standards.
3. References
[1] A. Shegani, “ Dhuna ndaj femijeve ne kontekstin
familjar”, 2012, pp. 41
[2] International Social Service, Italian secsion, “E drejta e
fëmijës për t’u rritur në një familje, Udhëzues për
ndërhyrjen në birësimin kombëtar e ndërkombëtar dhe në
kujdestarinë familjare”, pp. 6
[3] Social International Service, Italian section, The right
of the child to grow up in a family, Guidance to intervene
in international and national adoption and family care, pp.6
[4] The children Act 1989 guidance and regulations,
volume 2: care planning, placement and case review, July
2015, pp. 14
[5] Implementing Human Rights in Practice, Training
Manual on International Human Rights, SLYNN
Foundation, London, UK, January 2016, pp.18
[6] Implementing Human Rights in Practice,
Training Manual on International Human Rights,
SLYNN Foundation, London, UK, January 2016, pg.
20
[7] Council of Europe Strategy for the rights of the
child 2016-2021, pg.5
[8] Parliamentary Assembly Resolution 1995 (2014)
“Ending child poverty in Europe”
[9] A. Hazizaj, “Mekanizmi i ankesave per mbrojtjen
e adolenshenteve LGBT nga dhuna dhe diskriminimi
ne sistemin arsimor parauniversitar ne Shqiperi”,
International Conference “Violence against
children”,Tirana,21.11.2012, pp.32
[10] A. Hazizaj, “Mekanizmi i ankesave per
mbrojtjen e adolenshenteve LGBT nga dhuna dhe
diskriminimi ne sistemin arsimor parauniversitar ne
Shqiperi”, International Conference “Violence
against children”,Tirana,21.11.2012, pp.33
[11] UNICEF, Action plan for children, 2012-2015,
pp.4