MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES

Decisions

CM/Del/Dec(2024)1501/H46-21

13 June 2024

1501st meeting, 11-13 June 2024 (DH)   H46-21 G.M. and Others v. Republic of Moldova (Application No. 44394/15) Supervision of the execution of the European Court’s judgments   Reference document CM/Notes/1492/H46-21

 

Decisions

The Deputies

1.         recalled that this case concerns forced abortions and birth control imposed in the period from 1998 to 2007 to three applicants with intellectual disabilities who were victims of rape by a doctor in a psychiatric asylum where they were residents;

As regards individual measures

2.         noted with regret that the criminal investigation into the applicants’ complaints concerning forced abortions and contraception measures is not possible due to expiration of the limitation period;

3.         invited the authorities to provide assurances that no invasive medical interventions will be performed on the second and third applicants, who are institutionalised, without their valid, free and prior consent and without sufficient safeguards;

As regards general measures

4.         urged the authorities to adopt without delay the amendments to the relevant legal framework introducing adequate safeguards for obtaining  valid, free and prior consent for medical interventions from intellectually disabled person, as well as introducing effective criminal law provisions permitting prosecution of non-consensual medical interventions carried out on such persons in general and women in particular; invited them to inform the Committee on the concrete timeframes for the elaboration and adoption of this legislation and on the progress achieved, as well as to submit this draft legislation to the Council of Europe for its expert review;

5.         further urged the authorities to ensure that, while awaiting adoption of the improved legal framework, all abortions and birth control measures carried out on women with intellectual disabilities will be applied in a Convention-compliant way, i.e. with their prior and informed consent obtained on the basis of sufficient information on the procedure, provided in a disability-accessible manner and with sufficient safeguards;

6.         invited the authorities to submit information on the following:

·         whether the draft Law on Mental Health was brought in line with the CoE expert recommendations and on the timeframe for its adoption;

·         current practice in medical and social assistance institutions when dealing with pregnant women with intellectual disabilities, as well as when authorising sterilisation of such persons, including whether less invasive birth control measures were being considered;

·         functioning of the complaint mechanism instituted in the placement centres, including on the number of complaints lodged and the subsequent actions of the authorities;

·         conclusions of the Agency for the Management of Highly Specialised Social Services following its recent monitoring visits and measures taken to implement its recommendations;

7.         encouraged the authorities to continue providing capacity-building activities for professionals working with people in placement centres, including for medical staff called to provide medical assistance for such persons, as well as awareness raising activities for persons with intellectual disabilities concerning abortions and contraceptive measures and relevant safeguards;

8.         lastly, invited the authorities to provide updated information on all the above issues by 1 January 2025, at the latest.