The Council of Europe in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection organized a round table for the representatives of the national authorities on the promotion of the ratification of further provisions of the European Social Charter by the Republic of Moldova as a tool to enhance the protection of social and economic rights.

The aim of the event was to strengthen the knowledge of national authorities on thetreaty system of the European Social Charter (the Charter) and  the European Committee of Social Rights (the Committee) and discuss the possibilities of accepting additional provisions of the Charter so as to consolidate the paramount role of the Charter in guaranteeing and promoting social rights.

 „I welcome the increased attention paid by Moldovan authorities, National Human Rights Institutions, and social partners to social rights and to the European Social Charter system. We are seeing progress in Moldova and this work is very valuable.  However, it must be stressed that 35 provisions of the Charter remain non-accepted by Moldova, as  it has not extended the list of initially ratified rights. The workshop  represents an excellent opportunity to engage with and collaborate with Moldovan authorities and partners and I look forward to advancing this work in future”, highlighted Tatiana Puiu, Vice-President of the European Committee of Social Rights.

In addition to the discussions on the possibility of ratifying new provisions of the Charter, the participants had the opportunity to get acquainted with the Charter monitoring procedures and the Committee’s conclusions of conformity and non-conformity with the Charter’s provisions concerning Republic of Moldova. A specific attention was given to the examination ofthe Committee's opinion on the acceptance of further provisions as provided in the fourth report on non-accepted provisions of the Charter with regard to the Republic of Moldova.

The Republic of Moldova ratified the revised European Social Charter on 8 November 2001, accepting 63 out of 98 paragraphs. This demonstrates its commitment to improving the well-being and living standards of its citizens.

The event was organized within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2021-2024, and the Council of Europe project "Enhancing employment rights in the Republic of Moldova" which is co-funded by the Austrian Development Agency and the Council of Europe.