Olivia Maurel in Albania delivers a speech on the theme of “Surrogacy, the modern slavery”, as part of the debate on the introduction of this practice in Albania.
Press release 15 February 2025
On Saturday February 15, 2025, Olivia Maurel, spokesperson for the International Campaign of Casablanca for the universal abolition of surrogacy, gave a speech entitled “Surrogacy, the modern slavery” in Tirana, the capital of Albania. Ms. Maurel focused her speech on how this multi-billion dollar global industry preys on the vulnerability of many women, reducing them to slaves (See Olivia’s speech HERE).
This is not the first time Olivia Maurel has intervened in the debate on the introduction of surrogacy in this European country, which is one of the least developed countries on thecontinent. Already last year, together with Gloria Ruiz, who almost lost her life as a surrogate mother, they sent a letter to the Albanian authorities asking them to protect women and children from this practice.
Olivia Maurel was invited to give her testimony and her vision of the regression in terms of rights that this market would imply for Albanian women and children.
The other speakers were European, American and Albanian parliamentarians. The event was attended by diplomats, religious and civil society leaders, national and local authorities, journalists and intellectuals.
The debate comes just days after Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, discovered a report of 100 women reduced to reproductive slavery in Eastern Europe and publicly announced that she would devote her report for the 2025 UN General Assembly to the issue of surrogacy.
