Moldova Reported to the UN on Its Observance of the Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

In the first day of the review process, the Government representatives presented the national report and highlighted the progress in the terms of economic and social rights observance, such as the development of policies to support employment; the pension system reform; the adoption of policies for protection of children without parental support; as well as the poverty reduction by 20% as a result of the 2020 Strategy implementation.

Within the interactive dialogue with the Moldovan delegation, the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights asked questions on: the enforcement of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by the judiciary; the mandate of the Ombudsperson’s Office in protecting the economic and social rights; the impact of implementation of the 2011-2014 Human Rights Action Plan; the share of public expenses for the social field; measures to eliminate the discrimination of Roma people, etc.  

Within the session, the Committee interacted both with the civil society representatives and with the chairperson of the Council on the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring Equality. Therefore, the Committee was informed first-hand about the situation in terms of the economic, social, and cultural rights in the country.

For the first time the representatives of the Women-Lawyers Platform, a Roma community mediator, and a representative of the Youth Group for Interethnic Solidarity were part of the civil society delegation, being supported by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).      

On the occasion of Moldova’s review by CESCR, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) organised a live broadcast of the Geneva session in Chisinau. About 100 people attended the event, including authorities, people from vulnerable groups, professionals in various areas, representatives of the civil society, who discussed about the rights stipulated by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

According to the conclusion of the study “Perceptions of Human Rights in the Republic of Moldova”, every fifth person in Moldova considers his/her right to healthcare is violated; every sixth mentions the right to work and social protection, while about one quarter of the population considers their right to a fair trial, to education, and to freedom of expression has been violated. Thus, the data of the study show that the social, economic, and cultural rights have been most frequently violated in the recent years. 

Moldova has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and cultural Rights, therefore our country is subject to a periodic review by the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR), with a view to implementing the provisions of the International Covenant. Last time Moldova was reviewed by CESCR in 2011. At that time, the Committee made a number of recommendations to the Republic of Moldova regarding the sexual minority groups, the persons with disabilities, the Roma ethnicity population, and others.