The Council of Europe Office in Chisinau Newsletter | November 2020




Versiunea în romană a buletinului informativ poate fi accesată aici


Welcome to the second edition of the Chisinau Office Newsletter!

Thank you for signing up to keep in touch with the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau. This edition will provide you with updates on Council of Europe Office in Chisinau and its project activities, awareness campaigns, trainings, events, as well as other key developments from regional projects. Thank you for being with us and we wish you a pleasant reading!


Focus on Council of Europe regional projects

Combating discrimination in the Eastern Partnership

The regional EU – Council of Europe project “Strengthening access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate speech and hate crime in the Eastern Partnership”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and

implemented by the Council of Europe, carries out this autumn capacity building activities on combating hate speech for the Equality Council, Ombudsperson Office and Security and Intelligence Service in the Republic of Moldova, as well as regional activities on data collection.

Cross-country reviews on the internal structure of bar associations and on procedural safeguards

Within the framework of the regional EU – Council of Europe project “Strengthening the profession of lawyer in line with European standards” the cross-country reviews on the internal structure of bar associations and on procedural safeguards for lawyers in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine are being drafted. The process of elaboration of the reviews included online bilateral meetings between project consultants and relevant stakeholders in the Republic of Moldova, such as the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court of the Justice, the Court of Appeals of Chisinau, the Moldovan Bar Association, the Legal Aid Council, the Lawyers Training Centre, the Young Lawyers’ Association, and the Women Lawyers Association. The project also launched the elaboration of another cross-country review of the system of legal representation in the participating countries.

Supporting member states in their process of ratification of the Istanbul Convention

A new publication entitled “Advancing towards the ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention: good practices from states parties” has been published. This study has been prepared under the framework of the project “Awareness-raising activities on the Istanbul Convention in the Republic of Moldova”.

National awareness raising campaign on the prevention and protection of children against violence, including sexual exploitation and abuse

On 18 November 2020, the Council of Europe project "Combating violence against children in the Republic of Moldova" launched the awareness campaign on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse in the Republic of Moldova, which will continue throughout 2021. The campaign started with a flash-mob with the participation of 50 children from Chisinau. The participants raised awareness on child sexual exploitation and sexual abuse in the Republic of Moldova, in the context of the European Day for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, celebrated annually on November 18. On the same day, the project started an extensive communication campaign with 7 national media institutions, by promoting intensely the Kiko and the Hand video spot and participating in TV shows. At the same time, a mobile billboard was parked near 4 High Schools in the Capital and will further be placed near other 60 schools in the capital. In addition, static billboards are placed in two largest regional cities: Balti and Cahul. Simultaneously, on 23 November 2020 the project organised an online presentation of the English version of the Kiko and the Hand Training for Trainers manual for the representatives of national authorities, non-governmental and international organisations, through an online event. In the coming months, the project team will promote the campaign’s key messages with social media influencers and will record an audio spot to be broadcast on the radio.

Let’s orange the world! The Council of Europe Office in Chisinau joins the "16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence" campaign

Annually, the entire international community and national governments gather their efforts to celebrate together the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, from 25 onwards. The Council of Europe Office in Chisinau joined the "16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence" campaign by sending a call to action message to the state authorities to protect victims of violence, to promote their full rehabilitation, and to prosecute the perpetrators.


In the loupe

The Committee of Ministers, representing the 47 Council of Europe member states, has adopted the Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova for the years 2021-2024, which aims to bring the country’s legislation, institutions and practice further in line with European standards in the areas of human rights, the rule of law and democracy. Three series of online cascade seminars on legal reasoning in pre-trial detention for judges, prosecutors, and defence lawyers were organised in cooperation with the National Institute of Justice of the Republic of Moldova. The Newsroom convergence Strategy and the Action Plan for the Public Service Broadcaster “Teleradio-Moldova” was analyzed by a team of national and international media experts. The second workshop to assess the progress achieved in the implementation of Action Plans aimed at reorganising the management of three pilot prisons [Prison no. 7-Rusca (for women), no. 10-Goian (for young offenders) and Prison no. 1-Taraclia (for males)] was conducted online on 17 to 19 November 2020. The workshop was a follow-up of a number of activities that have started in summer 2020 when the Action Plans for each pilot prison have been agreed, and the testing phase has started. Training sessions in the Republic of Moldova on Health Assessment upon Admission to Prison and Managing Individual Medical Files. Role and status of the permanent electoral body in Autonomous Territorial Unit Gagauzia discussed.


Activities planned for December

The regional PGG II project on “Women’s Access to Justice: Delivering on the Istanbul Convention and other European gender equality standards”

On 1-3 December 2020, the project will organize an online course for 20 legal aid lawyers on Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence. The course’s objective is to strengthen and increase lawyers’ competences on international standards and case-law on women’s access to justice and specifically on domestic violence and violence against women, in particular on practical application of the Istanbul Convention.
On 7 December 2020, the project will organize a webinar on “Gender Mainstreaming Law Schools’ curricula” for university management from universities and law schools in all Council of Europe Member States. During the webinar the interactive tool “Checklist on Gender Mainstreaming law schools’ curricula” will be launched. The webinar aims at raising awareness on the importance of gender mainstreaming in academic settings with a focus on legal institutions for legal professionals at all levels.

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Council of Europe Office in Chisinau
63, Vlaicu Parcalab Str.Chisinau, MD-2012
Tel. + 373 (0) 22 202 304

www.coe.int/chisinau