The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) stated on Wednesday that it will monitor the Italian-Albanian protocol to ensure its compliance with human rights and international law. The protocol approved by Albania’s Constitutional Court in January of this year will permit Italy to process migrants in Albania seeking asylum in the Italian peninsula.

The UNHCR has been responsible for monitoring and counseling all parties involved in the protocol . In the released statement, the UNHCR clarified it did not have a role in the negotiation process of the protocol itself. Despite this, through a series of letters with the Italian Minister of the Interior, the UN agency will monitor the situation of migrants seeking asylum for three months. The UNHCR will also seek to “improve the protection of asylum seekers and refugees identifying and signaling to the competent authorities any incoherence with international law.” After three months, the UNHCR will give recommendations to the Italian and Albanian governments and any interested actors.

The UNHCR will monitor the process as part of its mandate of supervising the correct application of the 1951 Refugee Convention. This Convention grants essential rights and principles for refugees and migrants seeking asylum.

The Italian-Albanian agreement will accommodate up to 3.000 migrants at any time, having an important impact on migrations in Europe. The protocol received criticism from international organizations, such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) which described it as a “model of mismanagement and a blueprint for abuse”. Despite this, the policy has been moved forward by the Albanian and Italian governments but is yet to be operational.