The migrant camp in Gjadra has recently faced strong criticism for human rights violations and misuse of funds. Two international reports highlight problems in the functioning of this controversial project between Albania and Italy.
The camp was created under the “Rama-Meloni” agreement for the management of refugee flows in the Mediterranean. The structure operates on Albanian territory, but with Italian jurisdiction mechanisms. This has left room for a control gap by the Albanian authorities, raising concerns about ethical and legal standards.
UN: Albania without independent investigations into torture cases in Gjadra
UN Committee Against Torture reported on November 28, 2025 that Albania does not provide reliable data for investigations into mistreatment and torture in Gjadra.
The Committee called for full access to the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) and prosecution of potential perpetrators. But it encountered a lack of disaggregated investigative data on investigations into torture, ill-treatment and unlawful use of force, and a consequent lack of accountability for perpetrators.
Albania adheres to the Convention against Torture and consequently, according to the UN Committee, the Albanian state is obliged to investigate and report on cases of ill-treatment or torture despite the uncertainties regarding the jurisdiction of the camp in Lezha.
Thus, the committee urged Albania to grant its NPM mechanism full and unrestricted access to the Gjadri camp, in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention.
He emphasized that the obligations of the state party continue to apply regardless of the management or jurisdiction of the centers, as these structures are located on sovereign Albanian territory.
Albania is therefore required to ensure prompt, thorough and independent investigations into any reported cases of torture or ill-treatment, to temporarily suspend suspected employees during the investigation, to prosecute those responsible and to guarantee fair compensation to victims.
The UN Committee also asked the Albanian state to collect and publish accurate and detailed data on these cases.
ActionAid denounces financial irregularities in Gjadra
Action Aid, an international non-governmental human rights organization, denounced the misuse of public funds for the camp in Gjadra, at the Italian Court of Auditors.
According to data from the Trattenuti project of the University of Bari, there are serious suspicions of irregularities in the 133 million euro tender for the management of these structures.
According to the report by Action Aid, since the adoption of the Italy-Albania protocol, funds for the project have increased from 39.2 million euros to 65 million; subsequently, the Ministry of Defense has opened tenders worth 82 million euros, signed contracts for over 74 million and disbursed over 61 million euros – mainly through direct award procedures.
By March 2025, only 39% of the official capacity had been activated, while costs are much higher than those of similar centers in Italy.
"In Gjadra, keeping a bed operational for two months cost around 1,500 euros, almost as much as the annual cost for a bed in the Modica CPR in Italy."' is quoted in the report.
According to the denunciations of this organization, by the end of 2024, the daily cost for each detainee in Gjader was almost three times that in CPRs within Italy, even though 20% of places in Italy remained free.
Additional expenses include over 2.6 million euros from the Ministry of Defense for the Libra ship, travel and per diems for military personnel, 630,000 euros from the Ministry of Interior for transfers and control technologies, as well as the Ministry of Justice's nearly 2 million euro contract for the Gjader prison, which remains 30% unfinished and never used.
ActionAid concludes that these irregularities and unjustified costs require a full investigation by the Court of Accounts and the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC).
Citizens has continuously reported on the criticism and transformation of the function of the Gjadra Camp.
Read more:
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- The two-year anniversary of the Rama-Meloni agreement is commemorated with protests
- Gjadra, activists commemorate immigrant Hamid Badoui
He completed his master's studies in the department of Journalism and Communication Sciences at the University of Tirana. She has been reporting for more than four years in Citizens.al on issues of culture, urban development, feminism, etc. She is also a contributor to other local and foreign online media, and has worked in the editing of various materials. She is the author of the podcast "Pezull" on Citizens.al and is engaged as a coordinator of projects related to the empowerment of young journalists and migration issues.
