The Council of Europe Office in Chisinau Newsletter | March 2021


Welcome to the Chisinau Office Newsletter!

Thank you for signing up to keep in touch with the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau. The month of “Martisor” symbolizes a time of joy and revival of nature. During this period, our Office team has conceived many interesting activities in various fields: launching of a new project, trainings, workshops, launching of national studies, online gatherings 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!

Moldovan judicial staff trained to deal with cases of discrimination on ground of disability

30 representatives of Moldovan courts and prosecutor offices were trained on the subject of discrimination on ground of disability. The training was organized in cooperation with the National Institute of Justice in the framework of the European Union and Council of Europe joint 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”.

New co-operation project in the electoral field to be launched in the Republic of Moldova

Based on the established cooperation with the Republic of Moldova, the Council of Europe will launch a new project, as part of the Council of Europe o Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2021-2024. The new Project will focus on strengthening the capacities of the electoral management bodies, promoting good standards in the electoral legislation and practice and amending the electoral legal framework of the Republic of Moldova in line with the European election standards.

Online training on theory and practice in intervening in cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation

The Council of Europe project on Combating violence against children in the Republic of Moldova conducted the first online training on theory and practice in intervening in cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation for social assistants and other representatives of interagency teams. The topics discussed during the event concerned theoretical considerations related to child sexual abuse and exploitation, as well as practical considerations regarding the identification and management of cases.

Countering misuse of administrative resources in electoral period: e-learning course

The representatives of the Centre for Continuous Electoral Training of the Republic of Moldova and a Council of Europe anti-corruption expert jointly developed an e-learning course on countering misuse of administrative resources in the electoral period. During a video-conference they discussed good international and national practices, also based on the Council of Europe toolkit on Countering Misuse of Administrative Resources in Electoral Campaign, the Venice Commission recommendations, and national baseline documents. The e-learning platform of the Centre for Continuous Electoral Training was re-engineered in 2020 with Council of Europe’s assistance. Thanks to these efforts, it now offers a variety of online courses, extremely relevant due to the current sanitary measures to fight the COVID-19 epidemic.

One in four people felt discriminated in the Republic of Moldova in 2020

The results of the National study on the perception of the general population and the opinion of professionals on the preparedness of the justice sector actors in the Republic of Moldova to deal with cases of discrimination show that discrimination is considered a widespread problem in the Republic of Moldova. One in four interviewed people from the general population stated that they have felt discriminated in 2020. This survey is offering the Council of Europe a clear image on the tendencies in the area of discrimination in the Republic of Moldova, substantiated with data collected from all over the country. The results of the study will provide guidance for the Equality Council in designing awareness campaigns, training, and monitoring activities.This study has been produced in the framework of 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” co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in the framework of the Partnership for Good Governance phase II (2019-2021).

The Audiovisual Council media monitoring department better equipped to identify and combat informational disorder

On 18 and 19 March, the Council of Europe Project “Promoting European standards in the audiovisual regulation of the Republic of Moldova” has organized a series of workshops for the staff of the Audiovisual Council on the increasing phenomenon of disinformation and misinformation. The workshops’ overarching aim was to equip the key staff of the Audiovisual Council (media monitoring department) with a set of skills, tools and resources to identify the different types of false news, as well as garner their understanding of the legal opportunities of the Audiovisual Council to counter the spread of disinformation.

Joint meeting of law enforcement on disaggregated data collection on hate crime in the Republic of Moldova

The regional project funded by the European Union and by the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe “Strengthening access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in the Eastern Partnership” organised a joint meeting of entities involved in the collection of disaggregated data in the Republic of Moldova, namely: the General Prosecutor Office, Ministry of Justice, Equality Council, Superior Council of Magistracy, General Police Inspectorate, and the Agency for the Administration of Courts. The meeting aimed to present the activities undertaken by the project and gave the possibility to participants to share their feedback, experience and proposals for the optimization of disaggregated data collection on discrimination, hate speech and hate crime in the Republic of Moldova.

Speak peace, be the change!

A new publication on hate speech, produced within co-operation programmes of the European Union and the Council of Europe, is now available online. "Speak peace! Hate speech is not an option!" explores the concepts of hate speech, its manifestations, its risks for human rights and democracies. It provides explanations about hate speech as well as proposals for actions to prevent and fight hate speech.

Steering Committee of the Action against Corruption in the Republic of Moldova discusses progress and next priorities

The second meeting of the Steering Committee of the Action against Corruption in the Republic of Moldova took place on 25 March 2021. During the meeting, the project team presented the progress and results achieved during the last six months of project implementation. Among key achievements are the capacity building activities for the National Integrity Authority, assessments of the legislative framework governing the composition and operation of the Superior Council of Magistracy and of the Superior Council of Prosecutors, the mechanisms to verify the integrity of judges during selection and promotion procedures and the disciplinary liability of prosecutors. This was followed by a presentation of the project’s priorities and planned activities and a discussion with the participants on their specific needs and views.

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Council of Europe Office in Chisinau
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