“70 years of the ECHR, 25 years of the Republic of Moldova’s accession to the Council of Europe – implementation of the CoE standards at national level” was the theme of the international conference organized online on December 8, by the Office of the People’s Advocate in conjunction with the Office of the Council of Europe in Moldova.
In the opening session of the international conference, the People’s Advocate, Mihail Cotorobai, stated that the Republic of Moldova still has to work in order to clear the arrears regarding the implementation at national level of the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the standards of the Council of Europe (CoE). The Ombudsman regretted the unsatisfactory degree of implementation in our country of the ECHR, of the other treaties/conventions of CoE and of international ones, as well as the authorities’ misunderstanding regarding the observance of the human rights; the focus of all actions, human state policies and its interests that must become an absolute priority for them.
The Head of the Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe, Christophe Poirel, highlighted the symbolism of this two marked dates, also emphasizing the role of the Ombudsman’s Institution in making the Convention a powerful tool for upholding human rights. The EC official mentioned that the Ombudsman’s institutions play an important role in protecting and promoting human rights, including the complaints’ examination about alleged human rights violations.
The Vice President of the Parliament, Vlad Batrâncea, emphasized that 25 years the joining of the Republic of Moldova to the Council of Europe, it has been constantly supported and guided by the CoE in its efforts to ensure observance of the human rights and strengthen democracy and the rule of law. Vlad Batrâncea also revealed that the The Council of Europe (CoE) Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2017-2020 is largely realized.
Present at the event, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Interethnic Relations, Doina Gherman, highlighted the current priorities of the Legislature on the human rights segment, concerning in particular to the need to ratify the CoE Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.
The People’s Advocate for Children’s Rights, Maia Bănărescu, spoke about the place and role of the Office of the People’s Advocate in the system of human rights protection in the Republic of Moldova. Moreover, the President of Equality Council, Ian Feldman spoke about the activity of the Council for Preventing and Eliminating Discrimination and Ensuring Equality and implementation of CoE standards in ensuring equality in the Republic Moldova.
The President of the Constitutional Court, Domnica Manole, concerned about the role of the Constitutional Court in ensuring observance of the fundamental human rights and freedoms in the Republic of Moldova in the light of the European Convention on Human Rights. The government agent, Oleg Rotari, analyzed in his communication the impact of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decisions on respect for human rights in the Republic of Moldova. The vision of the civil society on this subject, as well as the role of the civil society in promoting the ECHR standards, of the CoE values in our country was presented by the executive director of the Center for Legal Resources of Moldova (CRJM), Vladislav Gribincea.
Another intervention had as subject the professional judicial training in the field of ECHR, speaker – the director of the National Institute of Justice, Diana Scobioala, PhD in law, associate professor.
During the event was presented a video spot about the activity of the Office of the People’s Advocate
In addition, it was made public video sequences regarding the opinion of several people regarding the observance of human rights in the Republic of Moldova:
Over 50 people, representatives of public institutions, the non-governmental sector and international organizations attended the event.
The conference was organized within the Program “Promotion of a criminal justice system based on respect for human rights in the Republic of Moldova”, funded by the Government of Norway and implemented by the Council of Europe.
08/ 12/ 2020