The Council of Europe Office in Chisinau Newsletter | April 2021




Versiunea în romană a buletinului informativ poate fi accesată aici


Welcome to the Chisinau Office Newsletter!

Thank you for signing up to keep in touch with the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau. According to the Moldovan popular tradition, the month of April is also called "Prier" and it means a good time for sowing or housework. During this period, the Council of Europe officially launched the Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2021-2024. Also, Office team has conceived many interesting activities in various fields: launching three new projects, trainings, workshops, online meetings with key partners, etc. In this edition, you can see the monthly highlights. Thank you for being with us and we wish you a pleasant reading!

New Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova launched in Strasbourg

The Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2021-2024 has been officially launched in Strasbourg in presence of Maia Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova and Marija Pejčinović Burić, Council of Europe Secretary General.The Action Plan aims to improve national legislation, institutions and practices in line with European standards concerning human rights, democracy and the rule of law.Under this plan, the Council of Europe and the Moldovan authorities have agreed to carry out activities to promote reforms in key areas such as the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights in Moldova.

Congress President meets the President of the Republic of Moldova

On 19 April 2021, the President of the Congress, Leendert Verbeek and the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, came together in Strasbourg following the signature a roadmap for local and regional democracy in the Republic of Moldova last week.They discussed issues of common interest concerning local democracy in Moldova and the participation of Moldova in Council of Europe and in the Congress.

New cooperation project in the electoral field launched in the Republic of Moldova

The Council of Europe launched the Project Improving Electoral Practice in the Republic of Moldova, Phase II (March 2021-February 2023) during the first Project Steering Committee meeting held online on 28 April 2021. The the Project will focus mainly on Strengthening capacities of the electoral management bodies to ensure the sustainability in the development of the professional and technical skills, More inclusive and participatory electoral processes and Promotion of good standards into the electoral legislation and practice in line with the European election standards, and recommendations made by the Venice Commission and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights’ electoral observation missions and local observers.

Teaching diversity and respect in multi-ethnic classrooms according to Council of Europe standards

Around 80 civic education teachers, school psychologists and school deputy directors were introduced to techniques to develop positive attitudes and abilities in multi-ethnic classrooms with Roma pupils, in line with Council of Europe standards and relevant European best practices. The training activity was organised online on 12-14 April by the Council of Europe project “Education for Democracy in the Republic of Moldova” in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research and the German Embassy in Chisinau, in the framework of the German Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

Media has a crucial role in advancing and achieving gender equality in Moldova – workshop for journalists

On 21st of April, over 30 journalists and media professionals attended an online workshop on the crucial role of mass-media in advancing and achieving gender equality. The event was organised with the support of Council of Europe Office in Chisinau jointly with the German Embassy in the Republic of Moldova, the Deutsche Welle Akademie and the partners from “Teleradio-Moldova” in the framework of the German Presidency of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers and to mark the 10th anniversary of Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

Increasing the capacity of the Moldova Audio-visual Council to monitor and sanction hate speech

On 7 April 2021, the regional project “Strengthening access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes in the Eastern Partnership”, kicked off a training course for the staff of the Audio-visual Council of the Republic of Moldova on monitoring and sanctioning hate speech. The training is based on a guide developed for the use of the Audio-visual Council on tackling hate speech. The guide will be finalised in May 2021, following this training course.

Mandate, effectiveness and institutional challenges of the National Integrity Authority discussed at consultative meetings with justice sector institutions and civil society

The Action against Corruption in the Republic of Moldova project organized consultative meetings with the representatives of the National Integrity Authority (NIA), Integrity Council, justice sector institutions, development partners and civil society organizations from 26 March to 28 April 2021. The meetings aimed to discuss institutional and legislative challenges affecting its performance and possible measures to strengthen NIA’s capacities and mandate.

HELP course on child-friendly justice launched for police in the Republic of Moldova

On 23 April 2021 the Council of Europe project “Combating violence against children in the Republic of Moldova” and the European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) launched the HELP online course on child-friendly justice. The HELP course is implemented in cooperation with the Academy “Stefan cel Mare” and General Inspectorate of Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova.The course will last 2 months and will be implemented for two groups of participants: 50 students/master students of the Academy “Stefan cel Mare” and 56 police officers nominated by the General Inspectorate of Police.

Review of the composition and operation of the Superior Council of Prosecutors of the Republic of Moldova

The Action against Corruption in the Republic of Moldova presented the results of the assessment on the composition and operation of the Superior Council of Prosecutors (SCP) during an online workshop on 23 April 2021. During the event, representatives of the Republic of Moldova and Council of Europe experts exchanged views on possible mechanisms to further consolidate the functioning of the SCP in line with GRECO recommendations and international good practices of independence applicable to prosecutorial councils. The recommendations addressed, inter alia, the status and conditions of service of SCP members, membership and election criteria within SCP, functioning of SCP and its relationship with its professional Colleges and the General Prosecution Office.

Council of Europe launches two Projects in the Republic of Moldova to continue supporting reforms in the criminal justice sector

Two Council of Europe Projects are presented today to the main beneficiary institutions in the Republic of Moldova: “Strengthening the prison and probation reforms, provision of health care and the treatment of patients in closed institutions in the Republic of Moldova” with the duration of 36 months (“SPPRH Project”) and “Strengthening the human rights compliant criminal justice system in the Republic of Moldova”, with the duration of 30 months (“SHRCCJ Project”). Both projects are financed through the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova (2021-2024) and a transversal coordination between them will be ensured during implementation.

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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