Information Documents
SG/Inf(2004)29-rev. 21 October 2004
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Moldova: Stock-taking of co-operation
with the Council of Europe
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Report prepared by the Secretariat subsequent to a visit to Chisinau on 28 September –
1 October 2004
Executive SummaryCloser European integration is one of Moldova’s foreign policy priority objectives. The Council of Europe maintains intensive co-operation with the country, notably in the field of legislative expert assistance to permit Moldova to ensure compliance of domestic legal norms with European standards. A new two-year Council of Europe / European Commission Joint Programme took effect in September 2004. Pluralist democracy Despite some progress in 2004, relations between the ruling party and the opposition remain difficult and the Moldovan Parliament has still to become a forum of open and transparent democracy. In the context of the forthcoming parliamentary elections, the independence and impartiality of the Central Election Commission, balanced coverage of electoral campaigns and observation of the elections necessitate particular attention. Decentralisation reform remains an issue of concern for the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. Rule of Law Follow-up to Council of Europe expert recommendations with respect to draft legislation needs to be better implemented. Co-operation on judicial reform needs to be pursued. Criticism has been noted – in various quarters - with regard to the independence of the judiciary. The functions of the Office of the Prosecutor General need further clarification vis-à-vis Council of Europe standards. Human rights Resolute action is required to ensure that human rights are adequately protected in domestic law to ensure full conformity with the European Human Rights Convention (ECHR), as interpreted by the Strasbourg Court. Much internal political debate in 2004 has focused on freedom of the media and the transformation of the state channel TeleRadio Moldova into a public broadcasting institution and, incidentally to this, the issue of freedom of assembly. Trafficking in human beings needs increased attention. The situation in the Transnistrian region gives rise to concern, notably with respect to restrictions imposed on Latin script schools in the Transnistrian region of Moldova. |
CONTENTS
Executive summary Pages
I. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3
II. Political context ................................................................................................................ 3
III. Main findings and recommendations............................................................................. 4
IV. Functioning of democratic institutions ......................................................................... 6
(i) Political dialogue...................................................................................................... 6
(ii) Forthcoming 2005 parliamentary elections............................................................. 7
(iii) Local democracy..................................................................................................... 8
V. Rule of Law 9
(i) Legislative appraisals............................................................................................... 9
(ii) Judicial reform, including role of Public Prosecutor’s Office................................ 10
(iii) Fight against corruption and organised crime ....................................................... 11
VI. Human Rights ................................................................................................................. 12
(i) Media situation....................................................................................................... 12
(ii) Latin script teaching schools in Transnistria ......................................................... 15
(iii) Specific Human Rights Issues............................................................................... 16
a. ECHR compatibility exercise ...................................................................... 16
b. Persons in detention..................................................................................... 16
c. Training of police staff ................................................................................. 16
d. Trafficking in human beings......................................................................... 17
e. Rights of minorities ...................................................................................... 17
f. Ombuds institution ....................................................................................... 18
VII. Other important issues.................................................................................................. .18
(i) Joint Programme EC/CoE.................................................................................... 18
(ii) Population census.................................................................................................. 19
(iii) School of Political Studies .................................................................................... 19
(iv) Civil society ........................................................................................................... 19
Appendix I: Programme of visit of Secretariat Delegation to Chisinau .................................. 20
Appendix II: Joint Statement of Heads of Mission in Chisinau on TeleRadio Moldova............ 22
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ADDENDUM: Moldova: Stock-taking of co-operation with the Council of Europe. Principal Council of Europe texts & overview of legislative framework (follow-up of CoE appraisals by the Moldovan authorities) [issued as a separate document]
I. INTRODUCTION
1. At their 872nd meeting on 12 February 2004, the Ministers’ Deputies
‘3. instructed the Secretariat, in consultations with the Moldovan authorities, on the occasion of the tripartite meeting of the Steering Committee for the Joint Programme Council of Europe /European Commission, to take stock of outstanding issues and to consider future forms of cooperation with the Council of Europe’ (see CM/Del/Dec(2004)872, item 2.1).
2. A number of Secretariat visits were carried out to Moldova since 2002, within different contexts, to assist with the fulfilment of commitments and the identification and follow-up of cooperation activities (see SG/Inf(2002)18 ; CM/Inf(2003)18; CM/Inf(2003)29 rev). The present visit, in line with the previous ones, was carried out from 28 September to 1 October 2004, following the signature in September 2004 of the European Commission / Council of Europe (EC/CoE) Joint Programme for Moldova ‘Support to the continued democratic reforms 2004-2006’ [NB: the Joint Programmes Website http://jp.coe.int provides ongoing information on this subject.]
3. The Secretariat Delegation is grateful to the Moldovan authorities for having organised the visit in accordance with its request (see programme of the visit in Appendix I). The Delegation met with representatives of relevant institutions from the executive and legislative branches of power, as well as from the highest judicial authorities. The Delegation also thanks the Special Representative of the Secretary General, who helped organise the visit and accompanied the Delegation throughout its stay in Chisinau, as well as the Council of Europe Information Office in Moldova for organising meetings with representatives of civil society.
II. POLITICAL CONTEXT
4. The most important challenge for Moldova in 2003, from the point of view of its European integration, was the responsibility for the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) from May to November. After the overall success of its Chairmanship period, the Moldovan authorities consider that they are now on the political course towards closer European integration.
5. The principal difficulty for the country in 2004 remained the Transnistrian frozen conflict. The failed settlement proposal (December 2003) based on the concept of asymmetric federalism brought the negotiations to a standstill for the better part of 2004. The deplorable crisis with the Latin script schools in the Transnistrian region of Moldova (since July 2004) once again underscored that conflict settlement options have become hostage to powerful interests. The frozen Transnistrian dispute is an obstacle for internal reconciliation with regard to major issues such as identity and language and, generally, saps the energy for further democratic reform. It remains an irritant in the relations of Moldova with international partners important for the country.
6. Much of the internal political debate in 2004 focused on freedom of the media issues such as local broadcasting outlets and the public service reform of State TeleRadio. This debate also brought to light problems in the area of the freedom of peaceful assembly.
7. Despite some progress in 2004, the conduct of relations between the government party and the opposition remained difficult, in particular within the Moldovan Parliament.
8. The Council of Europe maintained active across-the-board co-operation with Moldova and continued to offer, in particular, ample legislative expertise assistance with a view to the further approximation of national legislation to European standards. However, the situation with the follow-up to European legal appraisal of draft laws remained unsatisfactory. That said, a concerted effort is now being undertaken by the Moldovan authorities to remedy the situation, a situation which will no doubt be improved when the EC/CoE Joint Programme is fully operational.
III. MAIN FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Moldovan authorities have stressed the importance, in the context of the country’s European integration aspiration, of co-operation with the CoE and in particular the EC/CoE Joint Programme, implemented since September 2004. To this effect, a stock-taking of Moldova’s co-operation with the CoE could be envisaged at regular intervals.
Functioning of democratic institutions
A. As regards the preparation of the forthcoming parliamentary elections in early 2005, particular attention should be paid to:
- The impartial role of the Central Electoral Commission at all stages of the electoral process;
- The neutrality and impartiality of State institutions;
Free and equitable access to media by all political forces during the electoral campaign;
Observation of the electoral process by national and international observers.
B. As regards reform of the Election Law: while the decision not to change the Election Law shortly before elections is understandable in principle, the Law needs improvement, as recommended by the Venice Commission, in particular as regards representation thresholds, the lack of any element of territorial representation, the composition of the Central Election Commission and the provisions on cancellation and revocation of candidacies.
C. The Parliamentary Rules of Procedure need to be improved. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has made a proposal for a seminar, to be held in Chisinau in November 2004, based on an expert analysis of the Rules which was transmitted to the Moldovan Parliament earlier this year. This proposal was accepted by the Moldovan PACE delegation. However, confirmation from the Moldovan Parliament has not yet been received.
D. As regards the lifting of parliamentary immunities of three Members of Parliament: Lifting of parliamentary immunity of a member of Parliament should remain an exceptional measure, which must be sustained by strict judicial and procedural guarantees, in line with European standards; such a measure should never be used for partisan political purpose.
E. The situation with respect to local democracy is still unsatisfactory. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CLRAE) has decided to send a 4th monitoring mission to the country. Also, implementation of the Action Plan on decentralisation reform and the programme of activities related thereto requires a strong political commitment at the highest political level.
Rule of Law
A. Intensive legislative co-operation between Moldova and the CoE requires better co-ordination, especially as concerns the follow-up of expert recommendations; laws should be submitted for appraisal before adoption. A regular assessment of progress made could be envisaged.
B. Judicial reform should continue, with particular attention paid to legislative changes regarding the organisation of the judiciary, status of judges and the strengthening of the independence of the judiciary, taking into account CoE expertises. The extended competence of the General Prosecutor’s Office remains a subject of concern.
C. A specific assistance programme to Moldova in the field of fight against corruption within the judiciary is included in the new Joint Programme with the European Commission. It could be extended to other sectors.
Human Rights
A. The transformation of TeleRadio Moldova (TRM) should conform fully with Moldova’s undertakings and responsibilities, including the CoE/OSCE ‘Benchmarks for the Operation of Public Broadcasters in the Republic of Moldova” as endorsed by the country’s President. In this connection, dialogue aimed at finding a mutually acceptable solution of the conflict between protesting journalists and the administration of TRM should be pursued. Additional legal expert assistance to ensure that the law on the national broadcaster is in full conformity with requirements of the notion of public service broadcasting has been agreed in principle. Expert assistance may also be provided for the implementation of the law to profit from the experience of other countries.
B. There is an urgent need to adopt appropriate legislation in the audiovisual sector, including local public service broadcasting.
C. As regards the Moldovan schools teaching in Latin script in Transnistria, the situation is still far from settled (including the precarious position of an orphanage). Recent temporary “registration” of two schools by the Transnistrian “authorities” has not solved problems. The parties concerned are called upon to resume negotiations without delay to find a long-term solution to ensure that the schools function normally.
D. The authorities are urged to provide specific follow-up to expert appraisals of legislation related to human rights issues identified as needing priority treatment subsequent to the Secretary General’s Article 52, European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) inquiry.
E. Awareness-raising on human rights issues among the staff of law-enforcement agencies should be continued and cooperation activities re-inforced.
F. Given the scale of trafficking in human beings from Moldova, the CoE could propose a specific programme of activities on this subject.
Other important issues
A. As regards the recent census: The Moldovan authorities may find it appropriate not to publish the results before the parliamentary elections, in particular the results on ethnicity so as to prevent such information from being (ab)used for short-term political ends.
IV. FUNCTIONING OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS
(i) Political dialogue
9. During the meeting with the representatives of the parliamentary majority and opposition factions, the Secretariat Delegation noted the continuous polarisation in the Moldovan political landscape, accentuated by the proximity of the parliamentary elections. The representatives of the parliamentary majority accused the opposition of radical behaviour and for breaching normal parliamentary procedures. The opposition, for its part, accused the ruling majority of blocking all initiatives taken by the opposition and simulating a democracy while de facto controlling the judiciary and the media.
10. Since January 2004 the work of Parliament has been characterised by tensions between the majority and the opposition (see SG/Inf(2004)15 rev for more details). On 6 May 2004, Parliament passed, at a first reading, amendments to its Internal Rules of Procedures, authorising, after 4 warnings, a forced withdrawal from Plenary and a suspension for up to 10 plenary sessions of ‘disorderly’ parliamentarians. The second reading was subsequently postponed.
11. All interlocutors of the Delegation agreed with the necessity to improve the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure (adopted in 1996 and subsequently amended). They nevertheless considered this task very difficult in view of the majority’s and the opposition’s failure to find a commonly acceptable solution since 2002. In this respect, it must be noted that no information has been made available to the CoE on the follow-up given to recommendations of a PACE expert appraisal of the said Rules, which had been transmitted to the Moldovan Parliament in 2003. Hence, the Secretariat Delegation informed their parliamentary interlocutors about PACE’s readiness to reinforce cooperation with the Moldovan Parliament in this field, and, as a first step, to organise a seminar on best practices and rules of procedure. The idea to pursue this matter at the PACE’s forthcoming Part-Session on 4-8 October 2004 was positively received by the Moldovan interlocutors. See, in this connection, III Main Findings and Recommendations, Functioning of democratic institutions, C.
12. Back in 2002, a Round Table of political parties was put into place, following the recommendations of PACE and with the mediation of the SG, in order to facilitate political dialogue. According to members of the opposition, the Round Table is now ‘dead’. Nevertheless, the Round Table could be kept as a channel for political dialogue, and the Council of Europe is willing to provide assistance in this respect if and when asked to do so.
13. In February 2004, following the Prosecutor General’s request, the Parliament, by a majority vote, decided to lift the immunity of three PPCD deputies, namely Messrs Iurie Roşca, Vlad Cubreacov and Stefan Secareanu. On 10 March 2004, the President of PACE in a letter to the Speaker of Moldovan Parliament, expressed the PACE members’ concern about this action and asked for clarifications, especially as one of the parliamentarians, Mr V. Cubreacov, was also a member of PACE and possessed ‘European’ immunity. In reply the Speaker of Parliament explained that parliamentary immunity of the above deputies was lifted to allow preliminary investigations relating to breach of Article 347 of the Penal Code regarding ‘Profanation of National and State symbols’. On 29 September 2004, the authorities informed the Committee of Ministers that they were considering the revision of this provision.
14. This matter was broached by Mrs Durrieu, PACE Monitoring Committee co-rapporteur, when she visited Moldova in May 2004, and again by Mr Van der Linden, leader of PACE European People’s Party, in a question addressed to the Committee of Ministers (CM/AS(2004)Quest449 final 4). Apparently, investigations in Moldova are still being carried out concerning the said parliamentarians, although until now their freedom of movement has not been restricted.
(ii) forthcoming 2005 parliamentary elections
15. In the discussions with different political forces/actors, emphasis was placed on the fact that the election should be organised in a free and transparent manner to prevent allegations of unfairness.
16. In December 2002, the Venice Commission adopted an Opinion on the Election Law of Moldova (CDL-AD(2003)001). In July 2004, following PACE Resolution 1320(2003), the Venice Commission, jointly with OSCE/ODIHR, prepared new recommendations on the Election Law of Moldova (CDL-AD(2004)027). The opinions reflected a certain number of shortcomings in the text and suggested, inter alia, that: the representation threshold should be lowered; the independence of the Central Elections Commission should be ensured through changes to its composition, including a proportionate representation of political parties; the single constituency system should be changed into a system of local constituencies to ensure better representation of ethnic minorities; the mechanisms ensuring the secrecy of vote should be reinforced; the cancellation or revocation of candidates should take place only in conformity with fundamental legal safeguards and that the law should be more precise on the regulation of access to media during the electoral campaign.
17. Despite the need to amend the Election Law – acknowledged by the majority faction in Parliament – the Delegation was informed that Parliament would not do so before the elections, in order to respect the principle of legal stability. While understandable in principle, this remains a matter of concern with respect to the threshold for parties and lists to be represented in parliament. The excessively high threshold of between 6% for single parties, 9% for blocks of two parties and 12% for blocks of three and more parties resulted at the last elections in 28% of the electorate not being represented in Parliament.
18. The representatives of the opposition were of the view that the ruling party had already started the campaign of ‘threatening’ its political adversaries by having resort to legal suits of corruption, financial irregularities and illegal financial activities. Three persons close to the Mayor of Chisinau Mr Urechean, had been arrested on 24 September 2004 for ‘abuse of power’. The leader of the PPCD, Mr. Roşca, was informed that a special commission would be created to investigate his alleged ‘currency machinations’. The representatives of the opposition warned against proliferation of such incidents, adding that the independence of Moldovan judiciary was questionable.
19. Another issue of concern voiced by the representatives of civil society as well as by parliamentarians in the opposition, was the tendency of the authorities to strengthen control over the media in the pre-electoral context. It was alleged that the access of the opposition to the electronic media was limited and in particular as concerns the newly created national public service broadcaster TeleRadio Moldova (see below).
20. Finally, according to the law, the parliamentary election should be organised in late February- early March 2005. And although Parliament should fix the date for the elections in December, certain local observers believe that the imposition of a state of emergency – due to the deterioration of the situation with Transnistria – may lead to their postponement.
21. The Secretariat Delegation was informed that, in May 2004, the PPCD parliamentary group submitted to Parliament a set of legislative initiatives called “Conditions for fair elections in the Republic of Moldova”, elaborated with the assistance of representatives of the civil society. The document suggested changes in the electoral law, in the field of judiciary and law-enforcement, in the field of media, the abrogation of sanctions for participation in certain unauthorised action and the decrease in advance notice needed to obtain authorisation for public meetings from 15 to 2 days. According to the representatives of the PPCD, this initiative was ignored by the parliamentary majority.
22. On 5 July 2004, President Voronin launched an initiative to guarantee the democratic process and media freedom. The document emphasized the necessity to observe the law and ethic values in the future electoral struggle and called the political forces for the elaboration of a convention on the ethic standards of pre-election debate. In addition, the Presidential initiative called for the establishment of an upper limit for damages in civil defamation suits, as well as the creation of an additional ‘domestic remedies’ procedure before the Constitutional Court with respect to alleged human rights violations. The initiative has received mixed reaction from the opposition parties and NGOs.
23. On 6 July 2004, 12 NGOs launched, for their part, the Civic Coalition 2005 for free and fair elections. The participants of the Coalition presented a ‘Charter for free elections’ and a ‘Strategy 2004-2005’, with particular attention to be paid to electoral campaigning in the media as well as to the right to vote in Transnistria and for Moldovan nationals abroad.
24. The Delegation met members of the Central Election Commission (CEC) whose chairmanship has just been changed. The members of the CEC stated that efforts would be made to ensure fair and transparent electoral process. The CEC intends to make a public appeal to registered political parties and NGOs to monitor the elections. An election observation mission of the PACE is also welcome. Bearing in mind the importance of free and fair elections in the period between now and the forthcoming elections in early 2005, the CoE should pay particular attention to this matter.
25. Insofar as voters lists are concerned, according to the members of the CEC, the results of the recent census will be of crucial help, as the data on the country’s population must be ready by 1 January 2005. The problem of voters abroad is an issue being presently studied. Legal emigrants will be able to register on voters lists in consulates, where such exists and - also in countries where it is permissible – illegal emigrants should also be given an opportunity to do so. That said, it is unlikely that such a system can be put into place for the forthcoming elections. The CEC asked the Delegation’s help to find partial financing for the purchase of transparent voting urns.
(iii) Local democracy
26. The draft Law on the Status of the Municipality of Chisinau (which would alter the capital’s structure and substantially diminish the powers of the capital’s Mayor) and the draft Law on Associations of the Local Authorities (which would impose a sole national association of local representatives) were appraised by Council of Europe experts in the summer of 2004. The appraisals show that both draft laws fall short of standards required by the European Charter of Local Self-Government and create a serious risk of violating basic principles of local autonomy. The Secretariat, in letters transmitted during the Summer of 2004, asked the State Chancellery to postpone the transmission of these two drafts to Parliament and to organise an expert meeting with a view to amending the texts. No reply to these letters has yet been received.
27. An Action Plan on the decentralisation reform elaborated in 2003 by the Moldovan authorities with the help of the CoE Secretariat provided a basis for a Programme of Activities which, at this stage, should focus activities on three priority issues: financial arrangements for local government; administrative supervision for local public administration and promotion of institutional dialogue between central and local authorities. Although the programme was endorsed in April 2004 and followed-up by the setting-up of a working group to implement it, the Secretariat has as yet still not received a timetable for the implementation of those activities. These activities could be carried out within the framework of the new Joint Programme.
28. Following the issue of the report by the rapporteur of the Institutional Commission of the CLRAE, Mr. P. Mangin (doc. CG/BUR(10)103), which highlighted concerns about the state of local democracy in Moldova, the Bureau of Congress decided to draw up the 4th monitoring report on the country which is likely to commence in late November 2004.
29. Information received by the Secretariat Delegation during the meeting with the Mayor of Chisinau (who is also one of the main opposition leaders), would appear to confirm the CLRAE’s worries. According to the Mayor, work on the draft Law on the Status of the Municipality of Chisinau and the draft Law on the Associations of the Local Public Administration Authorities is being pursued without sufficient consultations with the local authorities concerned. Also, the Mayor expressed concern that charges of financial irregularities and corruption threaten the opposition. Three of his associates have been detained recently (see para. 18 above).
30. As regards Gagauzia, already back in 2002 the Venice Commission had examined a proposal to strengthen its constitutional status (see CDL-AD(2002)20). This proposal was, however, never implemented.
31. On 23 March 2004, the opposition-oriented Mayor of Komrat was dismissed following a vote at the National Assembly of Gagauzia. His case is presently pending before the Court of Appeal of Komrat. The argument has been put that the National Assembly does not have the legal power to dismiss a directly elected official.
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Proposals: · The Venice Commission stands ready to provide advice on constitutional/electoral matters · The round table could, whenever necessary, be used as a forum for political dialogue on a wide range of issues. · PACE seminar on rules of procedure and other aspects of best European practices could be organised within the next few months. · The new Joint Programme EC/CoE has a local government component, aimed at continued reform of legislation and at the development of training structures for locally elected representatives and officials (national training strategy). These activities could commence immediately and take into account information obtained from this CLRAE 4th monitoring mission. |
V. RULE OF LAW
(i) Legislative appraisals
32. Legal cooperation is one of the major strands of the CoE’s activities in Moldova. The Targeted Cooperation Programme (2002-2003) and the EC/CoE Joint Programme of 2001-2003 were to a broad extent focused on these forms of activities. The same is valid for the new two-year Joint Programme signed in September 2004, and follow-up concerning the Secretary General’s Article 52, ECHR inquiry (see para. 73 below).
33. Without here needing to go into a detailed analysis of (often substantial) difficulties encountered in the transmission, appraisal and appropriate follow-up taken in this respect by the Moldovan authorities, suffice is to say that a concerted effort is now being undertaken to ameliorate what until now has been an unsatisfactory situation: see, in this connection, the Addendum to this document, especially Part IV entitled “Overview of legislative framework: follow-up of Council of Europe appraisals by the Moldovan authorities”. The co-ordinating role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in this respect, would appear to be important.
34. The Moldovan authorities have stressed their commitment to adapt their legal system to European standards. The possible institution of a regular assessment of progress made and difficulties encountered in implementing the EC/CoE Joint Programme, as well as expert analyses, could be envisaged.
(ii) Judicial reform, including role of Public Prosecutor's Office
35. On a number of occasions the Delegation was informed of the fact that there still exists a lack of judicial independence, despite repeated legislative reforms. See also, in this connection, comments made by the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner (CommDH(2003)7) and information provided by NGOs (see, e.g., IHF Annual Report, 2004, pp.268-269).
36. In the 2002 a major reform of the judicial system was initiated, which was implemented by law on 8 May 2003. The old court structure has now been streamlined into a three-level system, composed of courts of first instance, six courts of appeal and the Supreme Court of Justice. These structural changes included the modification of eight laws, all principally relating to the internal organisation of the judiciary. They were adopted by Parliament on 8 May 2003 (Law No. 191-XV) without account being taken of certain recommendations of CoE experts.
37. The Moldovan authorities have indicated to the Delegation that they would amend the legislation in the light of CoE legal appraisals. It is hoped that when so doing, the authorities will study the present composition of the Judicial Service Commission which appears not to be in conformity with the ethos of the European Charter on the Statute of Judges ; the system in place permits the executive - in particular the President of the Republic - and the legislature to intervene in the process of appointing judges, a situation which may even necessitate amendment of the Constitution (see, in this connection, CoE Human Rights Commissioner’s comments in CommDH(2003)7, pp. 60-61).
38. Although it is probably not necessary to provide a detailed description of information available in the Addendum to the present report, certain legislative initiatives merit specific mention. In addition, up-dated information of the CoE’s work on this subject can be consulted at http://www.coe.int/T/E/Legal_Affairs/Legal_co-operation/Legal_professionals/Judges/.
39. A work plan was adopted in Strasbourg in October 2003 to implement the legislative initiative to establish a National Institute (School) of Justice for judges. It is understood that a draft text on this subject is to be submitted to the CoE in October 2004. Mention can also be made of the consolidated Code on Execution in Civil, Commercial and Criminal Matters (presented to Parliament on 25 November 2003 with adoption initially foreseen in spring 2004). CoE expert opinion – due by the end of October 2004 - was in the meantime sought, with examination by Parliament now envisaged in November 2004. Similarly, after appropriate consultations with the CoE, a draft law on the Status and Powers of Court Clerks was presented to the government. This text was, however, set aside by the government and is presently being re-examined by the Ministry of Justice.Finally, mention can also be made of progress made with respect to the draft law on the Organisation of the Bar and Training of Lawyers, after due referral of the text to the Constitutional Court. Once this text is adopted, another important text on Free Legal Advice will then be finalized.
40. As concerns the Law on the General Prosecutor’s Office, in force since 18th April 2003, the text would appear to be, prima facie, in conformity with European standards, especially after appropriate changes had been made to the Code of Civil Procedure on 12th June 2003. See, in this connection, Committee of Ministers Recommendation Rec(2000)19 on the Role of public prosecution in the criminal justice system. That said, certain matters remain somewhat puzzling. For example, the Secretariat Delegation was informed of a specific incident which occurred on 1st August 2004, when Article 6 § 1 of the said law was invoked by the prosecutor's office in Chisinau to suspend/revoke the municipality's authorization for protesting journalists/strikers to assemble in front of Radio House headquarters. (On the related matter of the freedom of assembly, consult the Moldovan Helsinki Committee for Human Rights web site www.humanrights.md). Here, so it was explained to the Delegation, the suspension of an allegedly illegal act by a public local authority needs to be distinguished from (an unproven) threat to public order. Also, according to the Article 249 of the Code on Administrative (Minor) Offences, a prosecutor is empowered to arrest a person for up to 10 days for ‘clarification proceeding’ regarding the person’s identity or to clarify the circumstances of the contravention, when the person is not in possession of an identity card (a procedure used when detaining vagrants). Such a decision of the prosecutor cannot, apparently, be appealed to a court of law. (see, in this connection CPT reports, the Moldovan Helsinki Committee Alternative Report for the UN Human Rights Committee, Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and, more generally, US State Department – Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2003 (25.02.2004)).
41. Finally, when meeting with the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, as well as the General Prosecutor, the Secretariat Delegation enquired about statistics concerning disciplinary and criminal charges brought against law enforcement officials. Whereas the Delegation was told that a dozen or so prosecuting officials had been dismissed and that criminal charges were pending with respect to four others, statistics as concerns disciplinary and criminal charges brought against law enforcement officials under the responsibility of the former where not available. The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs promised to provide the Delegation with this information, which is still awaited.
(iii) Fight against corruption and organised crime
(a) Anti-corruption measures
42. In 2002 Moldova was evaluated within the framework of GRECO, the first evaluation report being adopted in October 2003 (GRECO Eval I Rep(2003)3F). As a follow-up to this, on 6th November 2003, a National Commission was established to implement GRECO’s recommendations and to elaborate a national strategy against corruption. This draft National Strategy is to be submitted to Parliament (see Addendum). The document envisages measures to improve anti-corruption legislation, ensure transparency in political activities and increase the effectiveness of the bodies combating corruption. Following the initial comments on the Draft Strategy by CoE experts in June 2004, a round table will be organised on this subject in the near future.
43. According to Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index for 2003, corruption has reached worrying levels in Moldova. As TI indicates, this should not be a source of criticism, but rather be seen as a mandate for reform, and a call for international assistance. In this context, the Council of Europe could propose a specific programme of assistance to Moldova in the fight against corruption. See also, in this connection, allegations of lack of judicial independence, expressed by NGOs and others (see, e.g., paras 9 and 35).
44. Moldova ratified the CoE’s Criminal and Civil Law Conventions on Corruption on 14 January 2004 and 17 March 2004 respectively, both texts coming into force on 1 May and 7 July 2004 respectively.
45. A Law on the Statement and Control of the Incomes and Property of State Officials, Judges, Prosecutors, Public employees and Other persons holding leadership positions was subject to a CoE expert appraisal after it had entered into force on 19th July 2002. The text was therefore amended by Parliament on 6th May 2004, so as to take the expert recommendations into account.
46. There have also been expert appraisals on the laws on Fighting Corruption and Protectionism and on the Centre for Fighting Economic Offences and Corruption (PCRED/DGIExp(2003)26). On the basis of expert proposals, a new draft Law on Prevention and Sanction of Corruption was drafted, but the text was rejected and returned to the Government for further improvement. According to information provided to the Secretariat Delegation, the revised text of this law will be submitted for legal appraisal to the CoE after a thorough overview by the authorities of the draft Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Strategy for Prevention and Fighting against Corruption, to be undertaken within the next few months (see para. 42 above).
(b) Legislation relating to the fight against money laundering
47. Moldova has ratified the Convention on Money Laundering, the Search For, and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime (STE 141). Subsequently the implementation law of this Convention, the Law on Prevention and Fighting of Money Laundering, was subject to expert appraisal; new proposals to amend the said Law have now been made by the Centre for Legislative Creation on the basis of the MONEYVAL report. In this context, it is interesting to note that Moldova has been removed from the MONEYVAL assessment procedure as the country’s criminal law reforms have been assessed positively. That said, there is still the need to clarify the supervisory anti-money-laundering competences of the authorities responsible for the non-banking sector (insurances, financial market intermediaries, etc.) and settle the question of the use of certain means of investigation, including problems relating to the admissibility of certain evidence in court proceedings.
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Proposals: · Need to keep CoE informed regularly of situation concerning legal appraisal and follow-up relating to all key legislation · Support further reforms to strengthen the independence of the judiciary · Assist in establishment of a National Institute (School) of Justice · Continue with the wide-ranging cooperation already established for 2004-2005, including: - fight against corruption in the judiciary - prevention and detection of money laundering and financing terrorism - anti-corruption strategy - legal aid |
VI. HUMAN RIGHTS
(i) Media situation
(a) TeleRadio Moldova
48. The restructuring of the state channel TeleRadio Moldova (TRM) into a national public service broadcaster has been a major source of concern in the media field since April 2004. The most dramatic developments occurred during July-September.
49. The law on the national public service institution of audiovisual TeleRadio Moldova, adopted in July 2002 and amended in March 2003, envisaged the transformation of the institution through its liquidation. This implied laying-off the old staff and carrying out a new recruitment procedure. The journalists of the state channel warned against the risks of a purely formal transformation of the company and the use of the liquidation option as a pretext for firing ‘disloyal’ journalists (see Moldova-Azi, 21.01.2004, see also PACE, Doc. 10029 and Basa-Press 12.02.2004). The statute of the new TRM, presented for adoption in February 2004, had also been criticised by journalists for failure to establish clear mechanisms of implementation of the law, e.g. absence of the clear specification of the modality of employment and re-employment of staff members. In February 2004 the State company TRM was liquidated and a new recruitment procedure commenced. Since 27 July 2004, many of journalists, led by the Committee for Defence of Human and Professional Dignity (CADUP), initiated protest action, contesting the modalities of the procedure, its results as well as the composition of the selection commission. Furthermore, the protestors called upon the Moldovan Parliament to amend Article 13 of the law on TRM with respect to the composition of the Supervisory Board so as to increase the representation of media professionals within it. On 8th August TRM started functioning as a new legal entity. Protests took place in front of Radio House and Parliament during August-September. Since 22 August, and for 26 days, several journalists and representatives of civil society went on hunger strike (for more details see A19, ‘Open Letter to President Voronin on recent developments on TeleRadioMoldova’, 23.08.2004 ; A19, Moldova Bulletin, May-August 2004).
50. The police were used to disperse the protesters’ actions on 1, 6 and 29 August. During the incident of 1st August several persons were injured and hospitalised (see IFG media release, 7.09.2004). Complaints were filed with the Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs and legal action taken by the protesters relating to these events. The authorities’ response was that the police action was legitimate (to counter hooliganism), the Deputy Mayor’s authorisation for the protesters to assemble was suspended (see para. 40 above) and administrative proceedings were in turn initiated against the protestors for the organisation of unauthorised demonstrations.
51. Seized by the protesters, on 26 September, the court ruled in favour of the authorities of TRM. The protestors are now, so it is understood, appealing this decision to the Supreme Court of Justice.
52. The protestors have requested the Council of Europe and the OSCE to monitor the reorganisation of TRM and to investigate action taken by the authorities against the protestors.
53. On 30 July, the OSCE Mission to Moldova issued a statement questioning the transparency of the selection process and subsequently, on 1st October 2004, Heads of Diplomatic Missions in Moldova, the OSCE Mission to Moldova and the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (SRSG), made a joint statement, expressing the view that the process of transformation was not carried out in accordance with guidelines issued on public broadcasting and urged everyone involved to engage a constructive dialogue to find a mutually acceptable solution of this problem (See Appendix II). The representatives of the OSCE mission to Moldova and the SRSG are currently mediating between the TRM administration and the protesters.
54. The developments on TeleRadio Moldova had - understandably - been the focus of the Delegation’s discussions with interlocutors from Parliament, the Government, the Presidential Administration, TMR management and the protesting journalists / strikers (see Appendix I).
55. It is interesting to note that the perception of the conflict by the authorities seems to be limited to either a ‘labour dispute’ vision or to that of an alleged well-orchestrated campaign by the political opposition. Insofar as the protesting journalists are concerned, they claim that the main point of the protests concerns their struggle to create an authentic independent national public service broadcaster. During a meeting with the Secretariat Delegation, the strikers drew the Delegation’s attention to the fact that the TRM editorial policy was regularly being monitored by the local Centre of the Independent Journalism (IJC) and the Centre of Sociological, Politological and Psychological Investigations (CIVIS). According to IJC and CIVIS the editorial policy of the TRM fails to comply with the requirements of the Law on National Public Broadcaster, with a the tendency of bias towards the authorities being more and more evident (for details see http://ijc.iatp.md).
56. The transformation of TRM should be carried out in full compliance with Moldova’s undertakings and in accordance with the OSCE and Council of Europe’s “Benchmarks for the Operation of Public Broadcasters in the Republic of Moldova”, which were specifically tailored to the Moldovan situation. (For CoE analyses of the Law on the public broadcasting institution TeleRadio Moldova and amendments thereto consult: http://www.coe.int/T/E/human_rights/media/).
57. The Secretariat Delegation noticed that there was a will, on all sides, to settle the conflict. The TRM managers have established a commission to negotiate with the protestors. The position of TRM’s management is that the procedure cannot start from scratch; the idea of creating an independent TV channel, or a separate press agency, to which a number of journalists could be recruited, was suggested by the management of TRM.
58. Dialogue must continue so that a mutually acceptable solution to this problem is found. That said, it has been recognised that there is a need to provide additional assistance to ensure that the new Law is in full conformity with the notion of a ‘public service broadcaster’; CoE expert assistance could also be provided for the implementation of this Law, in the light of experience of other countries.
(b) Legislation in the audiovisual sector
59. During the meeting with the Delegation, the President of the Coordinating Council of Television and Radio (CCA) stressed the urgent need to adopt legislation in the audiovisual sector as the current legislation of 1995 is now outdated.
60. Two draft laws were submitted to the CoE for appraisal, one from the Parliament, the other from the Association of the Electronic Press APEL. The CoE experts concluded that the text submitted by the authorities fell short of relevant European standards, while the APEL’s project trigged a positive echo. The most controversial question is that of the composition of the CCA. The authorities’ draft is based on the political nomination model, while the APEL’s draft provides for inclusion of representatives of the civil society. On 9 September 2004, the authorities asked the Secretariat to organise further discussions, bringing together the experts and the drafters, including APEL. A suitable date for the meeting has not yet been found. The laws will be examined by Parliament during the autumn-winter session.
61. Insofar as the Local Public Service Broadcasting Law is concerned, the CoE expert recommended a revision of the Law as the text is not fully consistent with European standards (problematic points: way in which Supervisory Boards are appointed, intervention of the local authorities in the activity of the broadcasters, etc).
(c) Defamation
62. In May 2004, the Parliament, following-up the initiative of the President, abrogated Article 170 from the Penal Code, thus abolishing criminal defamation. The President also suggested re-introducing to the Civil Code upper limits for fines concerning moral damage in civil defamation. This measure, if adopted, would – in effect - secure the survival of a number of economically vulnerable Moldovan media outlets, often subject to defamation actions. However, a number of other controversial provisions are still in need of revision (CM/Monitor(2002)7). This subject was recently discussed at a seminar on freedom of expression and defamation in Chisinau on 5th and 6th October 2004 (for analyses of ECHR, Article 10 case-law, see Monitor/Inf(2003)3 and http://acces-info.org.md/comentarii.htm). According to local experts, only 3 to 4% of cases on defamation before the courts are won by journalists.
63. The obligation of journalists to prove correctness of their information, without being able to distinguish between facts and value judgments also remains controversial (see Administrative Code, in this connection).
64. The Secretariat Delegation was also informed that the Law on Extremist Activity Counteraction, of 21 February 2003, which might have had a negative impact on free circulation of information, has not been promulgated.
(ii) Latin script teaching schools in Transnistria
65. In early spring 2004 the Transnistrian authorities announced their intention to close Moldovan schools teaching in Latin script as of 1 September 2004. Following the CoE’s Commissioner for Human Rights’ visit to Transnistria in March, an agreement was reached whereby schools would not close until a solution to registration and curriculum issues would be found.
66. In mid-July, the Transnistrian administration closed six Moldovan schools (in Tiraspol, Ribnitsa and Bendery) and seized their buildings and equipment. Concern was expressed about this action by the Chairmanship of the CoE in July 2004.
67. The headmasters of Moldovan schools teaching in Latin script informed the Delegation that the most dramatic events took place in July-August around the Bendery orphanage (Internat), where several hundred orphans, having nowhere to go, were forced to leave the Internat ‘s building. Some of them were dispatched in the families of teachers. During August, 70-80 orphans stayed in the Internat, deprived of access to running water, gas and electricity. The OSCE Mission assured two daily meal deliveries, but was subsequently denied access to the site. Thereafter, the Moldovan militia resumed food supply to the children. On 20 August, the Transnistrian militia, without notice or explanation, withdrew from the orphanage.
68. The Transnistrian authorities – so the Delegation was informed – required the schools’ registration with the de-facto ‘Transnistrian Ministry of Education’. On 17 August the ‘Transnistrian Education Minister’ proposed a compromise solution for the schools to register as educational institutions with non-governmental status. Four schools received temporary registration. The last two schools received temporary registration on 29 September, but were not able to operate from their premises, which had been ‘seized’ by the Transnistrian authorities. One of the schools opened on 5 October in premises rented from a local steel factory, the other one is still closed waiting for suitable premises.
69. The international community has expressed concern about this situation on various occasions (see, e.g., OSCE press release of 10 September 2004). On 5 October 2004, the Monitoring Committee of PACE demanded from Tiraspol that harassment of children be ceased and that the schools be allowed to function with the status and in the circumstances in which they operated in the past, until a long-term solution could be reached.
70. On 28 September 2004 the Transnistrian authorities launched the idea of the creation of an independent international commission to adapt the curriculum of the Latin script teaching schools to the ‘teaching standards in force’.
(iii) Specific Human Rights issues
71. Article 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova of 1994 provides for supremacy of international treaties to which Moldova is a Party in case of the conflict between national legislation and international law. See also Articles 24 to 59 (fundamental rights and freedoms, and duties) and Article 135 (powers of the Constitutional Court), in this connection.
72. Of interest to note, also, is the number of applications registered before the European Court of Human Rights. Of some 1400 applications (approximately 80% inadmissible), around 70% of those declared admissible deal with the non-execution of judicial decisions. Around 15% deal with the quashing of final decisions, following appeals by the Prosecutor General to nullify them (this situation was present in Moldova before the adoption of the new Civil Procedure Code on 12.06.2003). Other applications deal with freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, alleged police brutality, detention conditions. To date, Moldova has been found in violation of the ECHR in ten instances, most cases relating to violations of Article 6 of the Convention (see http://echr.coe.int). That said, it is understood that certain of these cases may still be referred to the Court’s Grand Chamber, by virtue of Article 43 of the ECHR.
a) ECHR compatibility exercise
73. A substantial part of the Targeted Co-operation Programme (TCP) was focused on the compatibility of Moldovan legislation and practice with European standards, in particular the ECHR. The list of legislation chosen for appraisal was inspired by the first conclusions of the Secretary General resulting from his Article 52, ECHR, inquiry back in 2002 (doc. SG/Inf(2002)20). The compatibility process is still continuing.
74. For a list of legislative appraisals undertaken in this context, see Addendum to the present report. That said, the Delegation was somewhat surprised – after discussions at the Supreme Court – that despite training programmes over a number of years for judges of the Supreme Court, the Court rarely makes explicit reference to the Convention’s provisions and/or the Strasbourg Court’s case-law in its findings.
b) Persons in detention
75. Ill-treatment of detainees in temporary detention facilities (ISO) and in police custody, subordinated to the Home Affairs Ministry, remains an issue of concern in Moldova. The situation is apparently better in prisons, which were transferred to the control of the Ministry of Justice (see annual reports of Amnesty International, the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights).
76. For more details concerning developments as regards treatment of persons detained, in particular, by the police and the situation in prison establishments (including the management of prisoners suffering from tuberculosis), reference can be made to the two periodic visits made by the CoE’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), in 1998 and 2001 (http://www.cpt.int), the reports of which are in the public domain. Due to a voluntary contribution by Luxembourg, a pilot project has been launched to implement the CPT’s recommendations to improve the situation of prisoners suffering from tuberculosis in the Transnistrian region of Moldova. (see para. 13 of the CPT’s, 14th Annual Report, doc. CPT/Inf(2004)28). The third periodic visit of the CPT took place from 20th to 30th September 2004.
77. The Steering Committee for prison reform continues to follow the implementation of the existing Action Plan, targeting in particular overcrowding in prisons, the treatment of prisoners from a psychological and medical point of view, the treatment of long term prisoners and prisoners serving life sentences, treatment of minors, training of personnel and alternatives to imprisonment.
(c) Training of police staff
78. The CoE “Police and Human Rights Programme - Beyond 2000”, together with the Moldovan Ministry of Home Affairs, has started a series of seminars on human rights standards and teaching methods in the Central, Northern and Southern regions of the country. The first seminar was organised on 5 - 9 July 2004, the second is going to be held on 25 - 29 October and the last one should take place on 8 - 12 November 2004. Five more seminars are to take place in 2005-2006. Moreover, a seminar on police ethics was organised by the Council of Europe in March 2004, and follow-up assistance is planned for the fall 2004. The exercise envisages assistance in updating a code of ethics for policemen and discussions on transformation of the code of ethic into binding legislation.
(d) Trafficking in human beings
79. Moldova remains one of the major countries of origin for women and girls being trafficked for prostitution in the Balkans, Western Europe, and the Middle East. There is no precise data on Moldovan women involved in the sexual industry abroad. NGO’s have indicated that the figures officially cited, namely 10,000 (out of the 600,000 to 1 million Moldovan nationals living/working abroad) is probably an underestimation. Corruption and lack of resources prevent adequate border control and monitoring of traffickers, particularly in Transnistria.
80. The Delegation was informed that the Ministry of Home Affairs considers the anti-trafficking issue as one of the priorities of its combat with organised crime. There exists a special law enforcement unit within the Ministry, with a victims’ protection section that is to be given more financial and human resources. The prosecuting authorities have instituted legal proceeding against 33 persons suspected of trafficking in children, and 203 cases of trafficking in human beings. Statistical data as to the results of these prosecutions was not made available to the Delegation.
81. Also, the Delegation discussed this issue with representatives of women’s and anti-trafficking NGO’s. According to them, although a National Action Plan has been adopted, it is not sufficiently visible. They consider that trafficking is a national problem and should not be handled exclusively by international organisations, and that more attention should be paid to development of victims’ protection programmes. It was also stressed that trafficking is closely linked to the economical migration flux. This is why prevention of trafficking and re-integration of victims’ programmes have a limited impact.
82. Moldova has participated in the CoE pilot project on reform of penal legislation relating to human trafficking (LARA). Such a law should reinforce the pursuit of traffickers and afford greater protection and rights to victims. According to the Moldovan authorities, a draft Law on the Fight against Human Trafficking is under examination at the Ministry of Justice and will be submitted for CoE expert appraisal by the end of October 2004.
83. Given the scale of trafficking in human beings from Moldova, the CoE could propose a specific programme of activities in the domain of protection and promotion of victims’ rights .
(e) Rights of Minorities
84. The first Opinion given by the Advisory Committee of Framework Convention on National Minorities (FCNM) was made public on 15th January 2003. The Committee of Ministers’ Resolution CMN(2003)4, dated 15.01.2003, recognized commendable efforts made by Moldova in establishing a legal and institutional framework for the protection of national minorities, drawing attention to certain shortcomings (see http://www.coe.int/T/E/human_rights/minorities). Moldova's second report on the implementation of the FCNM was submitted on May 2004. A visit to Moldova took place from 11 - 15 October 2004.
85. The Director General of the Department of Inter-Ethnic Relations informed the Delegation that the authorities are aware that legislation concerning language issues should be modernised. In this context the data to be provided from the recent census will be of importance.
(f) Ombuds institution
86. The Law on Parliamentary Advocates, of 1997, provides for the establishment of the Centre for Human Rights, which includes three Ombudsmen (Parliamentary Advocates) who have competence to examine individual complaints with respect to constitutionally guaranteed rights. Three Parliamentary Advocates are elected for the period of 5 years by the Parliament, upon proposal of the President or at least 20 parliamentarians and the Government. The Parliamentary Advocates have jurisdiction over petitions concerning decisions of local and central public authorities, enterprises, public associations and persons holding official posts, but not over petitions on parliamentary decisions, presidential decrees and governmental decisions and instructions. The Moldovan Helsinki Committee for Human Rights has criticized this institution for an absence of a clearly defined mission and a lack of capacity to deal with crucial human rights issues (see Moldovan Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Report ‘Moldova: two years under the Communist rule in the new millennium’, 2003). Although the Delegation did not meet any of the Parliamentary Advocates, a ‘needs assessment’ of this institution could be undertaken.
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Proposals: · Legal appraisals to continue · Support for the transformation of media sector: evolution in national public service broadcasting, defamation legislation and audiovisual legislation · Follow-up to the compatibility exercise between domestic legislation and the ECHR · awareness-raising on the human rights issues for law enforcement agencies · prison reform · Further development of human rights’ training material · Specific programme of activities with respect to trafficking in human beings · Support for People’s Advocate (Ombudsman) institution |
VII. OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
(i) Joint Programme EC/CoE
87. Joint Programme EC/CoE: A new programme is being implemented since September for a 2-year period. The Moldovan authorities have stressed the importance of the Joint Programme and its links to the country’s European integration aspiration (the EU-Moldova Plan of Action might be signed in October 2004).
88. The new Joint Programme comprises four strands of action:
a. continued judicial reform
b. support to local government development
c. development of social services for vulnerable groups
d. continued human rights training
89. The Moldovan President’s Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have established a national implementation plan for the Joint Programme.
90. CoE co-operation with Moldova, including the currently operational Joint Programme, could be readjusted, where possible, to take into account matters raised in the present report.
(ii) Population census
91. The Council of Europe agreed to monitor the population and housing census in Moldova, responding to the request of the Moldovan authorities.
92. A High Level Experts Group was constituted, composed of senior statisticians and demographers. The Expert Group took charge of monitoring all stages of the census operation starting with field work, including the data flow since the fill-in and collection of the questionnaires from households until the publication of the census final results. The Expert Group selected a group of 30 observers from over 20 countries that was present for the entire period of work (5 - 12 October 2004).
93. While acknowledging the timeliness of the exercise (the last census was carried out in 1989), the Moldovan authorities may find it appropriate not to publish the results before the parliamentary elections, in particular the results on ethnicity so as to prevent the risk of such information being (ab)used for short-term political ends.
(iii) School of Political Studies
94. Cooperation continues with the European School for Political Studies in Moldova, founded in March 2003. The main purpose of this institution is to familiarise young future leaders and opinion makers with basic concepts of democratic culture and debate and discuss specific Moldovan issues under the aspect of the European standards for democracy, rule of law and Human Rights. The School holds three seminars per year – two in Chisinau and one in Strasbourg.
(iv) Civil society
95. Meetings held by the Secretariat Delegation with a number of Moldovan NGO activists confirmed the key role civil society plays in ensuring full respect for democratic principles, rule of law and respect of human rights. In this context, particular attention should be paid to the strengthening of cooperation with the entire Moldovan civil society on both banks of the river Dniestr. In the latter context, CoE “Confidence Building Measures” could be proposed.
96. Also, in this connexion, the Secretariat Delegation takes this opportunity to invite Moldovan authorities to consider signing and ratifying the Convention on the Recognition of the Legal Personality of International Non-Governmental Organisations (ETS No. 124), in force since January 1991.
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Useful internet sites:
http://www.bice.md/rom/indexro.htm
APPENDIX I: Programme of visit of Secretariat Mission to Chisinau (28 September –
1 October 2004)
Tuesday, 28 September 2004
4:20 pm Arrival in Chisinau
6 - 8:15 pm Informal meeting with representatives of civil society (at the Council of Europe’s Information Office, Chisinau).
8:30 pm Dinner with Vladimir PHILIPOV, Special Representative of the Secretary General in Moldova, and Ms. Lilia SNEGUREAC, Director of the Council of Europe Information Office
Wednesday, 29 September 2004
8:00 am Meeting with Messrs. Victor PUSCAS, President, and Mr. I. VASILATI, Vice-President of the Constitutional Court
9:00 am Meeting with representatives of CADUP (protesting journalists / strikers)
10:00 am Meeting with Mr. Vladimir BOTNARU, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs
11:00 am Meeting with Mr Serafim URECHEAN, Mayor of Chisinau
12:00pm Meeting with Mr. Ilie TELEŞCU, President of the Public Company Teleradio-Moldova
1:15 pm Lunch with Ambassador William HILL, Head of OSCE Mission to Moldova
2:30 pm Meeting with Mr. Sergiu MOCANU and Mr. Mark TKACIUK, Counsellors of the President of the Republic of Moldova
4:00 pm Meeting with Headmasters of Moldovan schools from the Transnistrian region
5:30 pm Meeting with Mrs Maria STRĂJESCU, Deputy Director General of Statistical and Sociological Research
7:00 pm Meeting with Mr. Valentin BENIUC, Minister of Education
Thursday , 30 September 2004
8:15 am Meeting with Mr Mihail CAMERZAN, Deputy President of the Parliament
9:00 am Meeting with Mr Dumitru BRAGHIŞ, Chairman of “Moldova Nostrá Alliance” Parliamentary Group
10:00 am Meeting with Mrs Valeria ŞTERBEŢ, President of the Supreme Court of Justice
11:00 am Meeting with Mrs Olga GONCEAROVA, Director General of the Department for Interethnic Relations
12:00 pm Meeting with Mr Vasile TARLEV, Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova
12 – 1:45 pm Lunch
2:15 pm Meeting with Mr Iurie ROŞCA, Chairman of the Christian Democratic People’s Party Parliamentary Group
3:15 pm Meeting with Mr Iurie CIOCAN, member of the Central Electoral Commission and Mr Vizant VALENIN, senior staff member of the Commission
4:00 pm Meeting with Mr Victor STEPANIUC, Chairman of the Communist Party Parliamentary Group, Mrs Maria POSTOICO, Chairman of Legal Affairs and Immunities Standing Committee, Mr Vladimir DRAGOMIR, President of Mass-Media, Culture, Education and Youth Standing Committee
5:15 pm Meeting with Mrs Victoria IFTODE, Minister of Justice
6:15 pm Meeting with Mr Ion MIHAILO, President of Coordinating Council of Television and Radio
Friday, 1 October 2004
8:15 am Meeting with Mr Valeriu BALABAN, General Prosecutor
9:30 am Meeting with Mr Vasilii ŞOVA, Minister of Reintegration
2:15 pm Meeting with Mrs Eugenia KISTRUGA, First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
3:00 pm Lunch hosted Mrs Eugenia KISTRUGA, Fiest Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
Saturday, 2 October 2004
7:10 am Departure
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Composition of Secretariat Delegation
Mr Andrew DRZEMCZEWSKI, Head of the Monitoring Department, Directorate of Strategic Planning (DSP), Mr Ivan KOEDJIKOV, Head of Division II, Directorate of Political Advice and Co-operation, Directorate General of Political Affairs, Mr Fredrik HOLM, Co-ordinator South-Eastern Europe, DSP and Ms. Leyla ZEINALOVA, Administrator, Monitoring Department, DSP. The Delegation was accompanied, at most meetings, by Mr Vladimir PHILIPOV, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in Moldova.
APPENDIX II : Joint Statement of Heads of Mission in Chisinau on TeleRadio Moldova*
Joint Statement
The Heads of Mission from the following countries or organizations are concerned about the situation at Teleradio Moldova and issue the following statement:
We believe that the process of transforming Teleradio Moldova into a public broadcaster has not been carried out in accordance with the guidelines presented in March by the OSCE Mission to Moldova and the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and endorsed in President Voronin's July 5 initiative on "Guarantees for the democratic process and freedom of the media." We urge everyone involved to engage in a constructive dialogue aimed at finding workable, mutually acceptable solutions to the different problems pertaining to Teleradio Moldova's transformation, including hiring practices and broadcasting policies, that are fully consistent with these principles
As a public broadcaster Teleradio Moldova should provide an impartial, balanced, and objective overview of political, economic, social, and cultural developments in the Republic of Moldova. Monitoring of Teleradio Moldova in recent months has revealed considerable shortcomings. We urge the authorities and management of Teleradio Moldova to ensure that future broadcasts contain fair and adequate coverage of all perspectives, including opposing and critical viewpoints.
A public broadcaster can and should play a key role in setting the stage for elections to be conducted in a free and fair manner. We note that bias, or lack thereof, in the coverage afforded by Teleradio Moldova will be one of the factors considered in evaluating whether the upcoming parliamentary elections are conducted in a free and fair manner.
Embassy of France
Embassy of Germany
Embassy of Hungary
Embassy of Poland
Embassy of the United Kingdom
Embassy of the United States
Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe
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* Issued on 1 October 2004