A delegation of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) visited the Republic of Moldova from 6 to 10 November 2023 as the first step in the preparation of a monitoring report. The visit was preceded by online meetings on 24 and 25 November 2023. During the visit, ECRI’s delegation gathered information on effective equality and access to rights, hate speech and hate-motivated violence, and integration and inclusion.

In Chișinău, the delegation held meetings with representatives of the government and other competent authorities, the equality bodies (the Equality Council and the People’s Advocate), the Parliament, Russian, Ukrainian, Gagauz, Jewish and Muslim communities, various civil society organisations, the media and a trade union. In addition, the delegation visited two Temporary Accommodation Centres for Refugees housing people fleeing from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. 

The delegation also travelled to Ciocîlteni, in the Orhei district, where it had talks with the mayor, the community mediator and members of the Roma community. Furthermore, in Bălți, the delegation met with representatives of the local authorities, teachers from the M. Gorki Theoretical Highschool and the Regional Office of the People’s Advocate, and it visited the Northern Integration Centre for Foreign Nationals. 

Following this visit, ECRI will adopt a report in which it will make a new set of recommendations on measures to be taken by the authorities to address racism and intolerance in the country. The implementation of two priority recommendations will be reviewed in two years’ time after the publication of the report as part of ECRI’s interim follow-up procedure.

In the context of these two priority recommendations, it was indicated that:

• in the field of LGBTI equality, the authorities should develop the legal framework by explicitly regulating the conditions and procedure concerning legal gender recognition and establish clear guidelines on the provision of gender-affirming healthcare; 
• in the area of Roma inclusion, the authorities should allocate appropriate funding to significantly increase the number of community mediators, develop a suitable policy for the recruitment and retention of community mediators and ensure that they are provided with adequate working conditions.

For more information on previous ECRI reports on the Republic of Moldova, please visit ECRI’s country monitoring page.