Country: Albania
Website: www.acer.org.al
Focal Point: Zef Preci, Executive Director
Email: email hidden; JavaScript is required
Tel: +355 42 274603

Mission and vision

ACER aims to promote economic reform in Albania by: conducting independent research on economic growth and assisting in the creation of an adequate institutional framework for reform; encouraging public debate on several economic transition issues; being a relevant stakeholder in drafting laws; advocating for good governance policies as well as encouraging the involvement of the non-governmental sector.

General description of the CSO work in the anti-corruption area

ACER has been involved in and/or carried out research and advocacy activities on anti-corruption since the 1990s. As one of the first CSOs tackling the issue in Albania, ACER has organized awareness raising events for institutional stakeholders, partners and citizens. It has also prepared policy papers, implemented surveys, carried out advocacy activities accompanied by support for governmental institutions in strategy preparation and law making for issues such as anti-corruption, whistle blowing, conflict of interest, transparency and accountability, overall good governance etc. ACER has increased its capacities through work in the region with other partner CSOs in the framework of SELDI.

Specific description of the CSO work in relation to the UNCAC

ACER implements research projects and advocacy activities pertaining to justice, governance, policy support and countering corruption, aiming to reach citizens and high level policy and decision-makers. ACER’s work has been in line with the objectives set out by UNCAC, but no direct interaction has taken place in the past few years.

Specific description of the CSO work in relation to the review mechanism of the UNCAC

ACER first started its work in tackling corruption with the project “Albania Anti-Corruption Initiative” (1997-1998), and has followed up on improving capacities towards building an expertise in the field. In three different time periods, ACER has implemented the Corruption Monitoring System (CMS) to evaluate perception and likelihood of corruption in Albania, within the framework of a national and regional analysis in cooperation with regional SEE partners (SELDI). The final results of the research have been presented in the Corruption Assessment Reports, which include not only survey outputs, but also background analysis on the main anti-corruption issues and recommendations for different stakeholders in preventing and tackling corruption, and in improving the current state of the judicial system in the country etc. ACER has not directly linked to the review mechanism of the UNCAC, but has worked in parallel while applying similar principles in countering corruption and being driven by SDGs while providing recommendations.