At its Human Rights meeting on 15–17 September 2026, the Committee of Ministers welcomed progress made by the Romanian authorities in the context of the execution of the judgments in M.C. and A.C. and Association ACCEPT and Others v. Romania.
The Committee welcomed a number of legislative, institutional and operational measures taken since its previous examination to strengthen the criminal justice response to hate crime.
In particular, the 2023 amendments to the Criminal Code addressed the Committee’s previous concerns by expressly prohibiting discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender. A specialised police unit is now fully operational, addressing one of the key shortcomings previously identified.
The Committee also noted an increase in the number of hate crime cases investigated and prosecuted. While the overall figures are still relatively low, this development indicates that the measures adopted start bringing concrete results. The strengthened cooperation between the Romanian authorities and civil society representatives was also positively noted.
The Committee encouraged the authorities to build on this progress by adopting a joint methodology for the investigation of hate crimes, to be used by the Romanian Police and the Prosecutor’s Office. It also called for a comprehensive data-collection system ensuring the traceability and analysis of homophobic hate crime cases.
The Committee further noted that several LGBTI events had taken place without significant incident. At the same time, it expressed concern about the refusal by the local authorities in Oradea to authorise the holding of a Pride march. It encouraged the authorities to ensure that requests to organise Pride marches and other peaceful assemblies are examined in accordance with Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Court’s case-law.
The Committee will continue to monitor the remaining issues in the execution of these judgments.
