Albania: Information on whether males are conscripted for military service before they reach 18 years of age and if so, for what reason; and whether any specific groups of males younger than 18 are targeted for conscription
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ALB24720.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Albania: Information on whether males are conscripted for military service before they reach 18 years of age and if so, for what reason; and whether any specific groups of males younger than 18 are targeted for conscription, 1 October 1996, ALB24720.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aba048.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
For information on the age at which males are conscripted for military service in Albania, please consult Response to Information Request ALB23718.E of 17 May 1996, to which is attached Albania's Law on Armed Forces.
The following information was provided during a 15 October 1996 telephone interview with a military attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Albania in Washington, DC. The military attaché stated that males are registered by municipal authorities for military service at age 16, but are not conscripted until age 18. The attaché stated that it was not possible to be conscripted for military service before age 18, nor would have it been possible prior to 1990.
During 9 and 15 October 1996 interviews, a research associate with Human Rights Watch in New York stated that he had spent time with many young males in Albania in recent years but had never heard of any male being conscripted at younger than age 18. Further, he stated that he had never heard of any allegations of forced conscription. The research associate also indicated that military service was obligatory for all 18-year-old males, except for those attending university. Those attending university, he believed, would be exempt.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below a list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Embassy of the Republic of Albania, Washington, DC. 15 October 1996. Telephone interview with military attaché.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), New York. 9 October 1996. Interview with research associate.
_____. 15 October 1996. Telephone interview with research associate.
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International country file.
Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1995.
Country-specific books on Albania.
DIRB country file: Albania.
DIRB and UNHCR databases.
Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States 1994.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily.
Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge].
News from Helsinki Watch [New York].
On-line search of NEXIS news database.
OMRI Daily Digest [Prague].
Transition: Events and Issues in the Former Soviet Union and East-Central and Southeastern Europe [Prague].