The main achievements, challenges and lessons learned in the process of the gradual implementation of the “Education for Society” subject were discussed during the national conference “Promoting democratic values through education in the Republic of Moldova”. The conference was attended by about 200 people: representatives of district education departments, non-governmental organisations, diplomatic missions and international organisations, school directors, teachers, students, etc.

The Council of Europe Office in Chisinau team participated in the traditional European Village, presenting the new EU/CoE funded projects as part of the third phase of the joint EU/Council of Europe Partnership for Good Governance (2023-2027) programme and other on-going initiatives funded through the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2021-2024.

Through a workshop organized by the Council of Europe project “Strengthening the human rights compliant criminal justice system in the Republic of Moldova”, 30 judges, prosecutors, lawyers and criminal investigation officers improved their knowledge and practical skills on evidence collection and presentation in courts for different types of offences, namely criminal death and allegations of police abuse, violent crime or sexual offences. The aim of the workshop was also to discuss the issues and challenges on these topics with the relevant criminal justice actors.

The Council of Europe and the Austrian Development Agency together with national partners launched a project focused on enhancing the observance of social labour rights in the Republic of Moldova.  To be carried out from 2023 to 2025, the project will strengthen the capacities of public officials to promote and protect social and employment rights, particularly employment rights of persons from vulnerable groups, in line with international standards.

The international conference “Equality bodies: new standards, new challenges” marked the 10th anniversary and presented the main achievements of the Equality Council throughout a decade of its activity in the Republic of Moldova. The conference was opened by the Prime-Minister of the Republic of Moldovao and the Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova. The event offered a platform for discussion for participants - national and international experts, representatives of equality bodies, state, and non-state actors active in the field of combating discrimination about the functioning of the anti-discrimination redress mechanisms in the Republic of Moldova, and possibilities to improve responses, in line with European and international standards in the future.

The launching of the JUSTAT Automated Information System will help national authorities to improve the efficiency and the transparency of courts and facilitate the understanding and access to judicial data for professionals and the public. JUSTAT has been inspired from the CEPEJ-STAT database related to judicial systems of the Council of Europe Member States and developed by a working group with the involvement of representatives of the Moldovan central judicial administration, courts, national consultants, and the Secretariat of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ).

 Meeting between the Vlad Izman, Vice – president of the Dubasari district and Giulia Re, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau a.i. enabled discussion about possible cooperation and joint capacity building activities in the field of non-discrimination and protection of vulnerable groups, in cooperation with other relevant actors such local civil society organisation. The local authorities from Dubasari expressed their interest in taking part in the activities and underlined their commitment towards the implementation of the European standards in the area in promotion of equality, diversity and non-discrimination.

Three short documentaries on social and human rights issues titled "The water inside us", "On my own" and "The price of history" were launched at the "Eugene Ionesco" National Theatre. The documentaries were developed by three young filmmakers with the support of the Council of Europe project Support for Media Pluralism and Freedom of Expression in partnership with Telefilm Chisinau and Irene Langemann – the renowned film director from Germany.

The first Meeting of the Technical Project Committee of the EU/COE PGG III project “Combating discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes in the Republic of Moldova” was carried out with national stakeholders and partners, to exchange on priorities and activities, ensuring inclusive project governance. This meeting ensured the successful planning, synergies between the actors involved, as well as coordination and collaboration in the field.

A delegation of the Ombudsperson Institution and National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) of the Republic of Moldova participated in a study visit to the Czech Republic to exchange good practices and experiences in the field of human rights protection, prevention and combatting of torture and ill-treatment, equality and non-discrimination, including monitoring the compliance of the relevant national legislation and practice with international commitments.

Mainstreaming the issues of the disadvantaged communities, including Roma, in national policies and addressing them in a targeted manner in strategic documents and action plans – this is one of the key conclusions of an event held in Chisinau. The Council of Europe ROMACT and ROMACTED Programmes, together with the Agency for Interethnic Relations, representatives of the central government, local and public authorities, and Members of Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, as well as experts in local development and Romanian municipality representatives addressed together  the problems of disadvantaged communities, including Roma.

Representatives of the Ministries of Justice and Health, the National Administration of Penitentiaries and the National Probation Inspectorate took part in the Steering Committee meeting with the Council of Europe to discuss progress of the initiatives carried out with the Project’s support. The members of the Steering Committee and the Project’s beneficiaries also informed about the changes introduced at policy, legislative and institutional levels of the criminal justice and public health systems in the first half of 2023, as well as their priorities for the second half of the year.

20 representatives from the General Inspectorate for Migration, the General Inspectorate for Border Police and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova enhanced their knowledge on the EU legislative instruments on migration and asylum during a 2-day training. The training sessions aimed to equip migration and asylum professionals with the necessary knowledge to respond effectively to the needs of refugees and migrants and ensure their human rights protection.