Republic of Moldova

Council of Europe Office in Chisinau

1-2 December 2016, CHISINAU – Non-discrimination was the focus of the International conference that took place on 1-2 December in Chisinau, Moldova. The conference brought together the representatives of the Ombudspersons’ Offices, equality bodies, state authorities and key local NGOs from: Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Belarus, as well as international experts.

Mr Jose-Luis Herrero, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, Mr Tigran Karapetyan, Head of the Eastern Partnership and Russian Federation Unit, Human Rights National Implementation Division, DGI, Council of Europe and Mr Ian Feldman, President of the Council for Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring Equality addressed the participants at the opening session.

The conference served as a forum for exchanging experience and finding solutions for better protection against discrimination at the national level.  The conference highlighted the evolution of the concept of discrimination from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) perspective and the ECtHR practice in the field of non-discrimination, mediation in cases of discrimination, and the use of the amicus curiae by equality bodies. The event also addressed the balancing of anti-hate speech regulations and the need to ensure freedom of opinion and freedom of expression, as well as gender stereotypes and discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.

“Non-discrimination is one of the key principles of democratic governance and needs to be addressed as a priority in countries where democratic practices are not yet consolidated. Ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability cannot constitute an obstacle for the enjoyment of equal rights. The European Court on Human Rights is showing the way but national governments and institutions have the primary responsibility to make equality and non-discrimination a reality” remarked Jose-Luis Herrero.

Tigran Karapetyan underlined that “Fighting discrimination and intolerance was at the heart of the creation of the Council of Europe in 1949, and remains one of its priorities today.”

“No one is immune to discrimination and this concerns everyone. When each of us will understand that he/she must not discriminate and fight for his/her rights, our lives will be better. Do not ignore your rights, fight for them!” Ian Feldman emphasized.

This event was organised within the joint European Union- Council of Europe project “Supporting national efforts for prevention and combating discrimination in Moldova,” a component of the Programmatic Co-operation Framework for Eastern Partnership countries.

For more information contact:

Diana Cealic, Senior Project Officer, Supporting national efforts for prevention and combating discrimination in Moldova Project; [email protected]