Amnesty International called for an end to the migration detention deal between Italy and Albania. The organization said that the offshore detention arrangement endangered the safety, freedom and human rights of asylum seekers and migrants.
According to the organization’s briefing examining the 2023 agreement, hundreds of people were forcibly transferred to facilities in Albania. Limited access to lawyers and courts at these centers weakened their ability to seek asylum and access justice.
Transfers from Italy to Albania
Italy transferred 74 people directly from international waters to Albania in three operations conducted between October 2024 and January 2025. The transfers stopped after Italian courts overturned the detention orders.
In March 2025, the government in Rome amended the agreement to allow men held in Italy who had been ordered deported to be sent to Albania. Amnesty International said that, following the amendment, more than 500 men, most of whom were described as racialized, had been transferred to the Gjader Detention Center.
Incidents at the detention center
The organization documented 42 critical incidents at the facility between April 11 and May 16, 2025. These included at least two attempted hangings, several cases of self-harm and a protest in which three people were injured by broken glass.
Amnesty International also accused the Italian government of restricting independent monitoring and parliamentary oversight. Although the people held in Albania remain under Italian jurisdiction, the distance of the center from Italy and their limited access to lawyers, courts and other safeguards weakened their right to seek asylum and access justice, the organization said.
Eve Geddie, director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, said that offshore detention was intended to deter migration and avoid responsibility for responding to people on the move. Geddie said that the Italy-Albania model could not be implemented in a manner consistent with Italy’s human rights obligations.
The cost of the agreement
The five-year agreement entered into force in February 2024. Italy allocated more than 670 million euros, or 783 million dollars, through 2028 to operate the arrangement.
Amnesty International called on the Italian authorities to terminate the agreement, use alternatives to detention and ensure effective access on Italian territory to asylum procedures and reception services that respect human dignity.
