Economic, social and cultural rights are the most violated during the last years

“Today we are releasing the first-ever national Human Rights Perceptions Study, a study which shows to all of us where we are in our journey to a human rights based society. Through the now released perceptions study we know how the ordinary people of Moldova assess the human rights situation in the country. This “popular” assessment comes as a very important complement to the formal procedures of assessing human rights situation in the country, such as the UN Universal Periodic Review on Moldova, which will take place in November this year in Geneva”, mentioned Dafina Gercheva, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Moldova.

“This study represents people’s perceptions about the level of respect human rights in the country. The study assesses the level of implementation of the existing public policies and comes with concrete recommendations for further elaboration of national strategies and/or improving the existing ones”, specified the People’s Advocate (Ombudsman), Mihail Cotorobai.

Some of the important findings of the study are:

• the human rights and fundamental freedoms that require enhanced attention from the state and the society are: the right to health, the right to social protection, the right to education, the right to work and favourable working conditions; the right to a fair trial (access to justice);
• the right to social protection – is violated, considering the pensions size, the size of the social allowances, the law salaries, etc;
• people with physical or psycho-social impairments are not protected sufficiently – according to 72.7% of respondents;
• the right to a fair trial – is ensured to a small extent. It persists the lack of trust in the justice system of the Republic of Moldova. The justice is selective and marked by corruption;
• the most observed rights and freedoms are: the right to free movement; the right to property; the right to freedom of conscience, thought and religion; the freedom of assembly and association; right to vote and to be elected; the right to information, freedom of opinion and expression; the right to water and sanitation;
• the human rights are mostly violated by the Parliament and Government, medical institutions (hospitals, medical clinics), police, courts and municipalities;
• only 50% of the population consider itself rather informed about human rights and fundamental freedoms. The awareness level is higher in urban area;
• the sources of information about human rights are the mass-media (80.7% of respondents), the close social circle and working places;
• the protection of human rights could be improved but it largely depends on the Government, Parliament, ministries and their departments – about 70% of respondents; the President of the country - 70%; law-enforcement agencies (General Prosecutor’s Office, courts, law firms) - 68%; church, trade-unions and NGOs – total 40%;

The discussions about the findings of the study and its recommendations were held with active participation of deputies, public officials, development partners, representatives of civil society and diplomatic missions accredited in the Republic of Moldova.

The full version of the study in Romanian (original), Russian and English languages can be accessed on the following webpages: www.ombudsman.md (at Thematic reports section) and www.un.md (at Library section).

This study was developed and publicly launched within the joint project “Supporting National Human Rights Institutions as per International Treaty Bodies and UPR Recommendations”, funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, co-financed and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Moldova and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in partnership with the Office of People’s Advocate and the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring Equality.