The Council of Europe is the leading human rights organization in Europe, with 46 member states. All of them have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights. For more than 70 years, the Council of Europe helps its members to achieve peace and democracy as well as to protect and promote human rights, often playing a pioneering role in many fields.

Protection of human rights, pluralist democracy and rule of law are the core values of the organisation which are commonly shared by all its member states. At the same time, through its specialised bodies and the cooperation programmes implemented at national and regional level, the Council of Europe contributes to identifying the best solutions to the problems faced by the society, ranging from discrimination against minorities, xenophobia, intolerance, terrorism, trafficking in human beings, organised crime and corruption, cybercrime, violence against women, violence against children, etc.

The Council of Europe is home to over 700 million Europeans in which the voice of each citizens counts. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the European Court of Human Rights, the Human Rights Commissioner, the Conference of NGO, and the European Youth Centre are the institutions which echo the voice of the citizens all over Europe.

In the course of the past 25 years, the Council of Europe has proved to be a reliable partner, accompanying the Republic of Moldova throughout its development as an independent state, by supporting political, legislative and constitutional reforms.

The main objective, reflected in the commitments taken by the Republic of Moldova when joining the organisation, was to undertake profound reforms in its institutional system to establish a full-fledged democracy. All the key specialised bodies of the Organization were mobilized over all these years to provide expertise in the key areas of reform.

Moldova has also benefited from the recommendations of the Council of Europe specialised bodies and institutions: the Venice Commission on constitutional issues, the GRECO - Group of States against Corruption, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and of course the European Court of Human. This means that any Moldovan citizen who believes his or her rights have been violated in the country can seek redress by appealing to the European Court of Human Rights.

For 25 years, the Council of Europe has supported and continues to support the Republic of Moldova in strengthening the rule of law and freedom of the media, so that citizens benefit from an independent and fair justice and from democratic, reliable and strong state institutions.

At the same time, the Council of Europe and the Moldovan authorities carry out cooperation programmes aimed at improving governance at all levels, combating corruption and money laundering, consolidating the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary, combating ill-treatment and impunity, enforcing the protection of the right of the minorities and building confidence among the people on both banks of the Dniester River.

Support for the creation and proper functioning of the National Institute of Justice, the Centre for Continuous Electoral Training (CCET), the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring Equality (Equality Council), as well as assistance to Telefilm Chisinau in the production of documentary materials, are just a few eloquent examples of the valuable support provided by the Council of Europe to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

The Republic of Moldova signed or ratified 107 Council of Europe treaties governing the most important areas, with a special emphasis on the supremacy of fundamental human rights.

To bring legislation, institutions and practice further into line with European standards in the areas of human rights, the rule of law and democracy, the Council of Europe and the Moldovan authorities are jointly implementing the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2017-2020. This strategic programming instrument aims to supporting the country to meet its obligations as a Council of Europe member state. The next Action Plan, summarising our cooperation priorities with the Moldovan authorities for the next four years 2021-2024 is currently under discussion.