Press Release (1999)032 12 March 1999

Workshop on Civil Emergency Legislation in Albania From 15 to 17 March 1999, a Workshop on Civil Emergency Legislation will be held in Tirana, Albania. The Workshop is organized in accordance with the supplemental Individual Partnership Programme for Albania, where NATO undertook to assist the Albanian authorities to improve civil emergency planning, specifically with the development of appropriate legislation. The NATO Civil Emergency Planning Directorate is supporting the event. The Workshop is designed to share with Albanian authorities practical considerations and lessons learned regarding the manner in which other nations have developed their Civil Emergency Legislation and to assist the Government of Albania in developing Civil Emergency Legislation. An estimated 50 participants from Albania and 15 national legislative experts from NATO and partner nations are expected. Participation on the Albania side will include Albanian Members of Parliament and officials from Ministries involved in developing Civil Emergency Legislation. Albanian NGOs will also attend. The Workshop is divided into three main sessions. One session will deal with Civil Emergency Planning legislation and structures in NATO and Partner nations; in the second session, experiences from implementation of new or revised legislation will be shared, in the third and main session the participants will, in Working Groups, discuss the ways to develop Civil Emergency Legislation in Albania. The keynote address will be given by the OSCE's legal staff who assisted in the development of the recently approved Constitution. Presentations will also be given by Representatives of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Albanian Red Crescent and Red Cross. The Workshop will take place in the Palace of Congress in Tirana. For further information please contact Mr. Olle Jonsson (Tel: +32 2 707 2678) or Ms. S. A. Jonsdottir (Tel: +32 2 707 9160), NATO Civil Emergency Planning Directorate.