OSCE Presence supports parliamentary oversight of security services
TIRANA, 14 July 2010 - The OSCE Presence in Albania announced today that it is providing assistance with the drafting of a bill on parliamentary oversight of the intelligence and security services.
A former expert member of the Intelligence and Security Committee of the U.K. parliament, together with OSCE staff will provide recommendations that will be submitted to the Chair and the Committee members of all political parties, members of institutions and civil society., before the bill is drafted. The objective is to help produce a first draft to strengthen parliamentary procedure, including through public consultation processes.
The support follows a request from the Chairman of the National Security Committee of the National Assembly of Albania and is part of the Presence's Parliamentary Support Project, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The draft law regulates the oversight of the parliament over the work of the Intelligence and Security Services. This law is different and separate from the Amendments to the Law on the State Information Service, which have recently been publicly debated.
Ambassador Robert Bosch, the Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, said: "Parliamentary oversight of the national intelligence and security services and the government institutions supervising them provides democratic accountability."