Participatory Governance and Social Cohesion

In order to move towards the long-term vision – by 2030, Moldova is a country where people want to live and where all people fully exercise their human rights and enjoy a better quality of life in a more inclusive and resilient society – the United Nations system and the Government of Moldova, together with their stakeholders, have defined four impact areas that also represent strategic priorities for the Cooperation Framework 2023–2027: (1) Just and Inclusive Institutions and Equal Opportunities for Human Development; (2) Participatory Governance and Social Cohesion; (3) Enhanced Shared Prosperity in a Sustainable Economy; and (4) Green Development, Sustainable Communities and Disaster and Climate Resilience. Four respective outcomes represent the transformational changes (results) that should enable the achievement of the national priorities and the SDGs. 

Sustained participatory and accountable governance across the social, economic and environmental dimensions is regarded as the key driver for promoting changes in all strategic priority areas to ensure equal opportunities for human development, shared prosperity and building the well-being and resilience of people and communities to socioeconomic and environmental shocks and all types of hazards. Strengthening governance and the rule of law to contribute to (among other outcomes) the respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights and gender equality, providing access to justice and security and sustaining peace, will be given strong emphasis under the UNSDCF to ensure that the structural barriers and bottlenecks that prevent equal and meaningful participation and engagement of people in building a more cohesive society are effectively addressed and removed. In connection with this, social responsibility will be enhanced through proactiveness, co-creation, self-development, etc. in order to assist the state to help the population and to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.

Achieving more accountable, transparent, human rights-based and gender-responsive governance is not only essential for building trust in the government and, more generally, in institutions in Moldova, it is also important for empowering people, including the most disadvantaged and marginalized, to participate in all spheres of life and to contribute to the sustainable development of the country. The Theory of Change underlying this outcome emphasizes the changes that should happen at the system and institutional level with the ultimate target of strengthening the capacity of the state as the main duty bearer in the implementation of its international human rights obligations and in promoting human rights, gender equality, non-discrimination and accountability. Targeted improvement in the regulatory framework and in building the capacities of duty bearer institutions is directly linked with increasing the capacities of data holders and providers to produce and share quality disaggregated data. Relatedly, support to state institutions to build enough/relevant capacities to produce and utilize disaggregated data for decision-making and accountability should help to overcome several key challenges identified by the CCA, such as the following: weak policy relevance and coherence (particularly in addressing inequalities); the lack of risk-informed management linked to the low resilience of institutions and systems; limited analytical capacities; and inadequate abilities to monitor the impact of, and report on the achievement of, the SDGs.