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On July 16, 2015, Promo-LEX Association launched the Report on Human Rights in Moldova – Retrospective of 2014. The sixth edition of the Report provides the analysis, conclusions and recommendations given by 15 experts from 8 Non-Governmental Organizations dealing with the observance of human rights in the Republic of Moldova, including the Transnistrian region.

A number of strategic regulatory acts were developed in 2014, which aim at improving the situations related to the guarantee and respect of the right not to be subjected to torture and ill-treatment, which were implemented poorly. On the positive side, courts of law started to issue judgments of conviction on torture cases, by applying custodial punishments.

With regard to the right to liberty and security of person, during the last year the number of persons deprived of liberty grew and the number of detainees in penitentiaries grew respectively. This brought back into light the issue of over-crowded penitentiaries.

A survey conducted in 2014 by the Institute for Public Policies reveals that the poor, the elderly, people with mental and physical disabilities, and the LGBT community are the most discriminated categories of people. The legislative, institutional and administrative barriers represent a major problem in combating discrimination since they affect negatively the activity of the Council on the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring Equality. Hence the Council is not empowered to apply sanctions, which leaves it at the discretion of courts of law, where the situation has not progressed.

With respect to domestic violence, it has to be mentioned that there are several shortcomings in implementing the legal framework, including: uneven enforcement of the legislation on administrative sanctioning of perpetrators for breaking the protection measures, but also the legislation on holding them accountable for domestic violence resulting in light injuries or insignificant impact on health. In this context, it is recommended to harmonize the national legal framework on prevention and combating of domestic violence with the European standards.

With respect to the Transnistrian Region, the Report highlights the phenomenon of arbitrary deprivation of freedom, stating that in 2014 ECtHR informed the defendant governments about 12 cases on alleged violation of Article 5 of ECHR. On the other hand, the actions and measures taken by the local administration have minimized the expression of any criticizing opinions against the regime, which was also proved by the ongoing persecution of human rights defenders. With regard to the right to property, the following problems can be mentioned: the de facto authorities of the region periodically block, limit or obstruct the access of farmers and owners from Dubasari district to their property. In addition, 2014 was marked by numerous incidents in the Latin-script schools, while the resolution of several problems in this area was postponed again.

See the Report here.

The Report was drafted under the project “Protection and Monitoring of Human Rights in the Republic of Moldova, Including the Transnistrian Region” implemented by Promo-LEX Association with the financial support of Civil Rights Defenders and SIDA.

For more details, please contact:  Carolina Bondarciuc, Press Officer: GSM 060280980, Tel/Fax (+373 22) 450024, e-mail: [email protected]