During the press conference held on December 1, the People’s Advocate, Natalia Moloșag, launched several accusations against the employees of the Office of the People’s Advocate and the previous institution management. She harshly criticized the way the institution was administered, negatively appreciating the activity of the Office of the People’s Advocate in the period prior to her appointment. Moreover, she stated that some of the employees refused to provide support to the People’s Advocate to enter the mandate and that the information released in the press about her would be an act of revenge from the officials who resigned.
The signatories of the Declaration strongly reject these accusations, which they consider to be unfounded. The People’s Advocate has not proved these allegations and has no way to prove them. Attempting to present things in this way is a gesture of despair to divert public attention from the real misconduct committed by the People’s Advocate by involving an unofficially employed person not only in the work of the institution but also in making important decisions regarding this. Unlike the People’s Advocate, the officials of the Office of the People’s Advocate and those who resigned due to the workplace environment in the last two months can provide many details about her method of administration with the participation of the so-called “personal assistant” of the Ombudsman, Dumitru Godorog. None of the officials sabotaged Natalia Molosag, on the contrary, in reality she ignored communication with most of the employees.
The results of the inventory to which Natalia Moloșag has referred, have no way to attest irregularities due to the fact that the institution has undergone controls performed by the Court of Accounts and the Financial Inspectorate in 2018 and 2019. The accusations regarding the damaged condition of the headquarter of the Office of the People’s Advocate are ridiculous because the management of the institution during the over 20 years of activity has made dozens of approaches to the authorities on this subject, and the late Mihail Cotorobai even appealed to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, asking for her support in solving this problem.
We consider as disqualifying and outrageous the statements regarding the disorder and chaos that would be present in the institution when Natalia Molosag entered the mandate, as well as the low degree of functionality of the Office of the People’s Advocate which she undertook to “reform” from the ground up. “Reforms” have been reduced to an easy throwing of all the procedures to the basket, as well as of internal methodologies, instructions, strategies and other important documents developed also from the financial resources of international partners in the last 5-6 years. All the hard-working processes that have finally started to function efficiently nonchalantly have been canceled, and new ones have been introduced that have nothing in common with either the public service or the rules of activity of a National Human Rights Institution.
For the first time since its establishment, after the reorganization carried out on the basis of Law no. 52 of 2015, the Office of the People’s Advocate has resumed operations according to international standards on the functioning of a National Human Rights Institution. The institution, rightly accused for many years of being the recipient of complaints (the function of examining petitions being optional according to the Paris Principles), has prepared studies, special reports, thematic reports on important issues, which have helped to identify gaps in the human rights system, launched relevant recommendations, which provided advice and support to the authorities in resolving system issues in the field of human rights. The Office of the People’s Advocate regularly reported to UN mechanisms, was heard from the rostrum of the UN Human Rights Council, being noted for several initiatives and attitudes. The National Human Rights Institution (Office People’s Advocate) was accredited in 2018 with the “A” status, the highest according to the Paris Principles.
For the first time in recent years, the employees of the Office have had the feeling of satisfaction and pride for the fact that they work in this institution, which has become appreciated and credible. And now it is said that the situation in the Office of the People’s Advocate is deplorable and that everything must be changed.
We are deeply outraged by these defamatory statements, by the hostile way in which the People’s Advocate has treated and still treats most of the institution’s employees, establishing an environment of harassment, suspicion and mistrust. The leadership methods applied by her led to the resignation of some key employees within the Office of the People’s Advocate, which holds the institutional memory, and another group of officials intending to leave the institution soon.
We consider that Natalia Moloșag has demonstrated through her actions and statements that she cannot and does not have the right to carry out the activity as a People’s Advocate, a position that implies exceptional competencies, special moral qualities and an impeccable reputation. Natalia Moloșag has completely discredited herself and through any day of her activity in the position of People’s Advocate, she brings serious damage to the institution image. All these not only have involved the Office of the People’s Advocate in a huge scandal, but it also affected people’s confidence in the People’s Advocate Institute, which must be completely independent of any external influence and interference. Or, by offering her assistant with a criminal record the possibility to make decisions on her behalf, Natalia Moloșag neglected in the most defiant way one of the basic principles of the functioning of a National Human Rights Institution. The People’s Advocate also compromised the Council for the Prevention of Torture, whose president is Natalia Moloșag, by admitting foreigners to enter the penitentiaries.
A worrying signal about the impact of Natalia Molosag’s actions is the announced intention of some development partners of the Office of the People’s Advocate to stop collaborating with our institution.
For the above reasons, we ask the Parliament to take an attitude according to Law no. 52 towards the situation created, in order to re-establish the functionality of the institution, the trust of the beneficiaries and partners. Any acts of intimidation and retaliation that will be taken against the employees of the Office of the People’s Advocate, signatories of this Declaration, will be appreciated as revenge for whistleblowing.
This Declaration will be brought to the attention of international organizations, including those of profile.
Maia Bănărescu, People’s Advocate for the Right of the Child,
Olga Vacarciuc, former Secretary General of the OPA,
Natalia Vișanu, former Head of Human Rights Promotion and Communication Department
Employees of the Office of the People’s Advocate:
Ina Galan
Cătălin Moroi
Ecaterina Iosob
Alexandru Zubco
Mariana Haheu-Ciobanu
Carolina Cazaciuc
Svetlana Rusu
Tatiana Popa
Tamara Tentiuc
Victor Solomon
Rodica Malicev
Iurie Dubenco
Veaceslav Ursu
Daniela Lungu
Olga Zarișniuc
Svetlana Mironova
Liliana Dubenco
Aladin Lozan
Andrei Lupușor
Cernăuțeanu Elena
Igor Muntean
Valeriu Echim
Mihail Lupașcu
Svetlana Balan
Anastasia Catan
Ion Miron
Angela Vasilașcu
Ada Șimon
Elena Munteanu-Sagaidashina
Maxim Cioroi
Anatoli Cravcenco
Valentin Cocârla
2 decembrie 2021
