Press Release

UN Human Rights Committee: Moldova registered progress for Civil and Political Rights, but violations persist

16 October 2016

  • The Human Rights Committee considered during 18-19 of October 2016 the third periodic report submitted by the Government of Moldova, by welcoming the progress registered so far since the last reporting, while addressing a series of concerns related to the most violated civil and political rights in the country. The Republic of Moldova is a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) since January 1993.

The Human Rights Committee took positive note of the National Human Rights Programme and a number of new laws adopted by the Republic of Moldova, and expressed satisfaction that the initiative to abolish the Equality Law did not enjoy the support of the authorities.

Experts expressed concern about discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, continued exclusion and marginalization of Roma, and about intolerance and harassment of religious, ethnic, linguistic and cultural minorities. Stressing the crucial role of combatting impunity, experts asked about the prosecution of public officials for old or new crimes of torture, ill-treatment and abuse of power, and urged the Republic of Moldova to vigorously and urgently address the shocking human rights violations committed against patients in psychiatric hospitals. Other issues raised in the discussion included the right to freedom of assembly, social reintegration of victims of trafficking, the impact of the Strategy for the Reform of the Justice Sector on the right to fair trial and administration of justice, and measures to address and limit prison overcrowding and improve the inhumane and degrading conditions of detention. During the concluding remarks, there were highlighted several areas for further attention, including the situation of patients in psychiatric hospitals, torture and ill-treatment, the situation in Transnistria region, and the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.

On 4 of November 2016 the Human Rights Committee will issue the Concluding Observations that the Republic of Moldova has to implement during the next years in order to improve the respect and protect of civil and political rights in the country.    

The full State report and national stakeholders’ alternative reports submitted to the Human Rights Committee may be found online.

The Human Rights Committee is a treaty body mechanism established under article 28 of the ICCPR. It is composed of 18 independent experts who are persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights, and which role is to monitor the implementation of the ICCPR provisions by its State parties.

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