The People’s Advocates have proposed to the authorities to establish a mechanism of cooperation with the members of the Commission for Exceptional Situations, in order to avoid possible derogations from the international standards in the field of human rights under the conditions of emergency. Yesterday, March 19, the People’s Advocate Mihail Cotorobai, made statements in this regard on the show “Tema Zilei” from the Canal2
The People’s Advocate announced that he sent yesterday on behalf of the Prime Minister Ion Chicu, as chairman of the Commission for Exceptional Situations, a message stating that, with the establishment of a special working regime for all entities, the establishment of a special regime of entry and exit from the country and the taking of other sanitary anti-epidemic measures, the People’s Advocate Office is notified by the citizens about the problems they are facing, about the alleged abuses by some public and private institutions. Some of them involve special remedial measures, others require actions to inform the population.
In the context of the aforementioned, the People’s Advocates have proposed establishing a mechanism for cooperation and exchange of information between the People’s Advocate Office and the Commission for Exceptional Situations in order to ensure the observance of human rights and freedoms in the Republic of Moldova. Mihail Cotorobai pointed out that the advanced initiative is part of the duties of the People’s Advocate Office as a National Institution for Human Rights, which, among other things, also has the task of consulting the authorities on human rights issues, guiding them in order to comply with the commitments assumed by the accession of the Republic of Moldova to international treaties in the field of human rights. The Ombudsman also drew attention to the fact that there are international standards that expressly refer to the permissible limit on the restriction of fundamental rights and freedoms in emergencies (the most relevant being the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 4; General comment no.29 to Article 4 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted on July 24, 2001 by the United Nations Human Rights Committee).
The People’s Advocate announced that the employees of the People’s Advocate Office are currently working remotely, but that people can contact them by e-mail, by completing the online petition on the official website of the Office and at the telephone numbers displayed in the announcement about the working regime during the emergency period (http://ombudsman.md/news/announcement-regarding-the-way-of-notifying-the-People’s-Advocate-Office/).
Asked by the moderator of the show about the character of the notifications in recent days, Mihail Cotorobai said that the citizens who contacted the officials of the Office referred to the increase in prices for food products, particularly in the districts, to some cases of disrupting the circulation in localities where no restrictions were officially imposed in this regard, to ignorance by some persons returned from areas with outbreaks of infection of quarantine rules and lack of adequate reactions from the police. People who have appealed to the People’s Advocate’s Office have complained that they are forced by their employers to go into technological unemployment, which will not be paid, and others that, being sent home to work remotely, they are not sure that the work done will be paid.
The People’s Advocate is hoping that the authorities will agree to work with the Ombudsmen to examine the complaints of the people received by the People’s Advocate’s Office and to identify solutions as a matter of urgency for the problems that have arisen. Mihail Cotorobai also stated that he will carefully monitor the evolution of the events regarding the COVID-19 fight in the Republic of Moldova and will intervene according to his duties whenever he deems it necessary.
2020/20/03
Department for Human Rights Promotion
and Communication
Tel. 060002656
