The Council of Europe Office in Chisinau NewsletterI February 2023




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Welcome to the Chisinau Office Newsletter!

Thank you for signing up to keep in touch with the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau. February has started with excellent news: a new project aimed at providing targeted support to the Republic of Moldova in building resilient migration, asylum, and reception systems in line with international and European standards was launched. On this occasion, the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees, Leyla Kayacik paid a visit to Chisinau. The team of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau and its projects worked together with national partners to lay the foundations for future results and to continue supporting progress and reforms in various fields, such as electoral practices and current achievements, the Police response and data collection on hate crime, new Policy and Standard Operating Procedures on dynamic security and Individual Sentence Planning Guidelines developed for the prison system of the Republic of Moldova etc. Read our newsletter and you will see the monthly interview on how effectively address hate-motivated crimes in the Republic of Moldova. Thank you for being with us and we wish you a pleasant reading!

February interview: Legal and practical mechanisms to effectively address hate-motivated crimes in the Republic of Moldova

Currently, in the Republic of Moldova, there is little data on hate motivated violence and hate crime. Until recently, classification and documentation of bias crimes by law enforcement officers were significantly obstructed by the lack of related legal framework and of several data collection procedures and tools. In the February edition of our monthly interview, we discussed the recent changes to national legislation, the increase in law enforcement capacity and the need to develop a supportive culture of for the victims.

Supporting the Republic of Moldova in building resilient migration, asylum and reception systems

Leyla Kayacik, Special Representative of the Council of Europe Secretary General on Migration and Refugees (SRSG) jointly with the national partners, UN Agencies working in the field of migration and asylum and civil society representatives took part in the launch of the Council of Europe project: “Strengthening the human rights protection of refugees and migrants in the Republic of Moldova.”

The national art competition “My house is also your house: together in safety” has been launched

50 students from the School of Fine Arts “Alexei Sciusev” took part in the public lesson dedicated to the launch of the country-level fine arts competition “My house is also your house: together in safety”. This is the 4th edition of the competition, aiming to raise awareness among children and young people about the specific needs and rights of refugees and migrants in the Republic of Moldova. The art competition seeks also to promote a wider education and culture around safety and security in society, especially in the context of the refugee situation from Ukraine.

At work to strengthen the capacities of the Moldovan Police to respond to hate crimes against LGBTI people

A two-day training of trainers on “Hate crime and intolerance towards LGBTI people, with a special focus on victim support” was attended by 19 police officers who previously became trainers on non-discrimination under the Council of Europe project on Enhancing diversity and equality, funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This activity additionally increased trainers’ knowledge, this time with focus on a victim-centered approach in dealing with hatred motivated violence against LGBTI persons.

Achievements in the electoral field in 2021-2022 and way forward

The Council of Europe (CoE) Project Improving Electoral Practice in the Republic of Moldova, Phase II, presented the results of its 2 years of implementation. During the Steering Committee meeting, together with all partners institutions, civil society and international organisations’ representatives, the project discussed Council of Europe efforts to improve the integrity, transparency, and quality of the electoral process in the Republic of Moldova to better ensure citizens’ right to vote and to be elected.

Moldovan Police officers trained to further improve data collection on hate crimes

141 operators of the database from the General Police Inspectorate, including criminal investigation officers and statisticians from police inspectorates of Central, North and South regions of the Republic of Moldova – have been provided with an instruction on data collection on hate crimes. Three online sessions were organized for police staff of the Republic of Moldova, with a focus on the developments and adjustments of the database on hate crimes, and related issues to be addressed when working on disaggregated data collection.

Towards an improved cooperation between the Equality Council and the Judiciary

Representatives of the Equality Council and judges designated by the Superior Council of Magistracy took part in an online roundtable “Fundamental rights in the context of war – freedom of expression and its limitations”. This event enabled a joint discussion about the newest developments in the case-law of international courts, including the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights on freedom of expression. Participants also had the possibility to get more information about the practice of the National Council for Combating Discrimination of Romania and the cooperation with the national judicial system on anti-discrimination.

Judges, prosecutors, and judicial staff build up knowledge on prohibition of discrimination

41 judges, prosecutors and judicial staff enhanced their knowledge on international standards on prohibition of discrimination, as well as on the national practice in terms of non-discrimination, during two training sessions. The expert from the project ”Strengthening the capacities of the justice sector actors to deliver justice in line with European standards, in particular to fight discrimination in the Republic of Moldova” facilitated the discussions about the international standards on the prohibition of discrimination and analysed discrimination cases examined by the European Court of Human Rights.

Prison staff trained to implement a new Policy and Standard Operating Procedures on dynamic security

23 specialists from all 17 prisons in the country and the representatives of the National Administration of Penitentiaries were trained on transposing the set of principles and sequence of steps necessary to enable the implementation of a dynamic security approach to prison management, thereby ensuring a safer detention and working environment in prisons. During the training session, the participants were guided through the concept, approaches and precepts of dynamic security and learned how to identify potential security risks and vulnerabilities of prisoners for the rapid repression of potential incidents and disturbances.

Individual Sentence Planning Guidelines developed for the prison system

The National Administration of Penitentiaries (NAP) of the Republic of Moldova was provided with Guidelines and tools for devising individual sentence plans (ISP), aiming to ensure a better rehabilitation and reintegration into society of prisoners by means of tailored interventions and support. The last meeting of the Working Group, held on 15-16 February 2023, provided a platform for 35 specialists from 7 prisons and the NAP to discuss the structure, content and practical implementation of the ISP Guidelines and forms, as well as to reflect on the benefits of Incentivised Regimes and motivating prisoners to participate actively in their sentence planning.

Exchange of practices in the field of life imprisonment sentences

40 judges, prosecutors, lawyers, prison staff, members of the Council for Prevention of Torture and staff of the Ombudsperson Institution enhanced their professional skills on the relevant European Court of Human Rights case-law regarding the imposition of, and release from life imprisonment, as well as best practices and methods implementing the release procedures. The Council of Europe Project "Strengthening the Human Rights Compliant Criminal Justice System in the Republic of Moldova" contributes to further strengthening the criminal justice system of the Republic of Moldova in the areas of combating ill-treatment and establishing a basis for a more humane approach towards sentencing in criminal cases.

Training for specialists in preventing and combating online child exploitation and abuse

30 Judges, Prosecutors and Criminal Investigation Officers from the Republic of Moldova participated in a three-days training on preventing and combating online child exploitation and abuse. The training was organised by the Council of Europe Project „Preventing and protecting children from violence including in the digital environment in the Republic of Moldova”, in collaboration with National Institute of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, on 28 February-2 March 2023.

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Council of Europe Office in Chisinau
73/1, Stefan cel Mare 73/1,
Chișinău, MD-2001
Tel. +372 (22) 888 902

www.coe.int/chisinau