Albania and international organizations promote personal data protection
TIRANA, 27 June 2007 - The Council of Europe (CoE) in co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania and the Albanian Justice Ministry organized today a conference on privacy and personal data protection.
The head of the CoE Data Protection Unit, Sophie Meudal-Leenders, said that the Council of Europe wants to support Albania's Government as it establishes a personal data protection legal framework that is compliant with European standards.
During the Conference, the participants discussed personal data protection, the upcoming reform of data protection legislation in Albania and how this affects the work of the institutions and businesses in the country.
"Citizens have a right to know that personal data collected for civil registration will not be used inappropriately," said Frank Nan, who heads the OSCE Presence's project on technical assistance to the Government on modernisation of address and civil registry systems. "Data protection is therefore an essential part of a civil registry system."
Participants agreed on the importance of good laws and practices related to the protection of privacy and personal data. It was also underlined that such a legal framework would contribute to a sound basis for the civil registry, as well as foster the trust of citizens in the way their personal data are handled, both in the public and private sectors.
Graham Sutton, the Council of Europe data protection reference expert, added:
"With the rapid development of information and communication technologies, a good legal framework for data protection is increasingly important. Data protection can help all institutions in the public and private sectors deliver their services efficiently while respecting personal information privacy."
The event gathered more than 60 contributors representing the main Albanian public institutions, private sector agencies, as well as international organizations. It marked the launch of a Council of Europe project called "Data protection within the framework of the civil registry system of Albania", implemented as part of the OSCE Presence project to help the Government modernize the civil registration systems.
The project is paid for through a grant agreement between the OSCE Presence and the European Commission Delegation in Albania, with a financial contribution from the Council of Europe.