The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed concern at the methodology and results of the Albania Census 2011. He has raised questions in regard to the reliability of the process which, he said, has implications for the rights of religious minorities and religious freedoms guaranteed in the country’s constitution. The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed concern at the methodology and results of the Albania Census 2011. He has raised questions in regard to the reliability of the process which, he said, has implications for the rights of religious minorities and religious freedoms guaranteed in the country’s constitution.
Tveit expressed this concern in letters issued at the beginning of May to the WCC president Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and Durres, Orthodox primate of Albania, to Prof. Dr Heiner Bielefeldt, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and to the Albanian government.
The latest official report of the Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) regarding the religious identity of the population in the 2011 national census concludes that Orthodox Christians in Albania make up 6.75% of the population and that the overall number of Christians has been drastically reduced from 31% to 17%.
Following these results, the Orthodox Church of Albania distributed a questionnaire regarding the census to Orthodox participants at liturgies in Tirana, Durres, Berat, Korca, Vlore and other cities. The results of this survey indicate the possibility of serious irregularities in the methodology and final results of the government’s data.
Tveit recalled the important role of religious communities in collective efforts to rebuild the country after the hardships of the previous regime. He said that such actions can undermine the existence of Christian communities and the unimpeded practice of religious freedom in the country.
Tveit called on the Albanian government to exert the utmost efforts, in accordance with national legislation and in conformity with international human rights standards and norms, in order to guarantee the full protection and promotion of religious freedom in the country for Christians and followers of all other faiths.
Read full text of the WCC general secretary’s letter
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Letter of concern at the Albania Census 2011
The World Council of Churches would like to express its concern on the methodology followed and on the reliability of the results of the 2011 Census in Albania, regarding the optional question of religious affiliation. The latest official report of INSTAT, regarding the religious identity of the population, from the 2011 Census declares that Orthodox Christians in Albania are 6.75% and that the overall number of Christians has been drastically reduced from 31% to 17%.Mr Heiner Bielefeldt
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
United Nations Human Rights Council
Your Excellency,
Kindly accept my cordial greetings!
The World Council of Churches would like to express its concern on the methodology followed and on the reliability of the results of the 2011 Census in Albania, regarding the optional question of religious affiliation. The latest official report of INSTAT, regarding the religious identity of the population, from the 2011 Census declares that Orthodox Christians in Albania are 6.75% and that the overall number of Christians has been drastically reduced from 31% to 17%.
The restoration of religious life in all the traditional religious communities and especially the flourishing of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, in the years since the coming of democracy in 1991, after the long antireligious persecution, are quite evident throughout the country. The Orthodox Church possesses evidence (baptismal registers, from both before and after the persecution, and the registers of 460 Orthodox parishes throughout the country) that the number of Orthodox Christians in Albania exceeds 24% of the population.
Following the results of the Census, the Orthodox Church of Albania distributed a questionnaire regarding the Census to Orthodox participants at liturgies held on two Sundays, December 9 and 16, 2012 in Tirana, Durrës, Berat, Korçë, Vlorë, and other cities. The results were disturbing: 7,118 persons completed the questionnaire which included their first and last names and their address. Of these only 2,469 persons or 34.68% declared that they were visited and questioned regarding their religious affiliation during the Census; 4,643 persons or 65.23% were not visited or when visited were not asked about their religious affiliation by registrars of the Census; 56 persons declared that the registrars wrote information in pencil or not in the official form and an additional eleven persons testified that the registrars refused to record religious affiliation or did so only under significant pressure. Moreover they received testimonies that in a large number of cases citizens were not asked to sign the Census form and that information was written in a notebook rather than on the official form as procedure required. The results of this questionnaire show that in 65% of the cases there were irregularities in the Census taken with regard to religious affiliation.
It is worth mentioning that according to the Council of Europe (“Third Opinion of the Council of Europe on Albania adopted 23.11.2011,”) the population census “cannot be considered to be reliable and accurate, raises issues of compatibility with the principles enshrined in Article 3 of the Framework Convention for the protection of national minorities…’.
The Constitution of Albania guarantees freedom of religion or belief. Article 3 charges the state with ensuring religious coexistence. Article 20 restates protection for minority religious rights and freedoms. Furthermore, Albania is a signatory to international human rights instruments guarantying freedom of religion or belief.
Having full confidence in your work for the respect, protection and promotion of freedom of religion or belief around the world, we urge you, Prof. Dr Bielefeld, to use your good offices to ensure that freedom of religion or belief for all citizens of Albania, is fully respected.
Sincerely yours,
Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit
WCC general secretary
Similar letters were sent to the WCC president Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and Durres, Orthodox primate of Albania and Filloreta Kodra, Albanian ambassador to the United Nations.
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, by the end of 2012 the WCC had 345 member churches representing more than 500 million Christians from Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other traditions in over 110 countries. The WCC works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway.
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OUR OFFICIAL DECLARATION
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The orthodox autocephalous church of albania
OFFICIAL DECLARATION
The results of the 2011 Census regarding the Orthodox Christians in Albania are totally incorrect and unacceptable.
