Trafficking and organised crime in Albania - May 2024

Many Albanian asylum claims are based on having been trafficked in the past by an organised criminal gang, and fearing re-trafficking on return, either by the same or different traffickers. Others are based on fear of organised criminal gangs more broadly, for example because of a debt owed to illegal moneylenders. This paper is intended to provide a practical toolkit for asylum lawyers who are challenging Home Office decisions in such cases.

This paper gives lawyers guidance on how to use Country Guidance and country background evidence to rebut common Home Office arguments in such cases:

• Where the Home Office says your client will not be at risk of re-trafficking;
• Where the Home Office says your client would have a sufficiency of protection;
• Where the Home Office says your client could access shelters/reintegration assistance;
• Where the Home Office says your client could relocate internally.

The paper examines the sources cited in the Home Office Country Policy and Information Notes (CPINs) and explains why they do not support the Home Office arguments. It also examines some further sources not cited in the CPINs. The paper distinguishes carefully between evidence that is cited in the CPINs, which can be relied upon in judicial review challenges to certification, and fresh evidence not cited in the CPINs, which may be useful in initial claims, fresh claims and appeals.

Read the full paper here.