Civil society organizations request the Parliament’s legal commission for appointments and immunities to finish and present bill No. 301 on the regulation of crimes based on prejudice for adoption. The bill should take into account the recommendations formulated by national and international organizations. A public call to this effect was made by NGOs that form part of the Coalition for Inclusion and Nondiscrimination.

In a news conference at IPN, Irina Corobchenko, of the Promo-LEX Association, said the bill has been in Parliament since 2016. “This bill is absolutely necessary and should be finished and adopted by Parliament in the context of the monitoring carried out by Promo-LEX, which shows that the number of cases of hate speech increased by at least 17% in the campaign prior to the presidential elections compared with 2019,” stated the expert.

According to her, public consultations on the bill were held in October 2019. There, civil society presented its recommendation and amendments. This March, the parliamentary commission held new public consultations and the bill was to be finished in ten days. “Our current call is addressed first of all to the MPs of the legal commission for appointments and immunities, who are asked to return to the bill, to finish it and to send it to Parliament for adoption in the final reading. This way, the crimes based on prejudice, hate speech, speech that incites discrimination could be punished and a signal would be given to society that such speeches and acts are not accepted in a democratic society,” stated Irina Corobchenko.

Lawyer Gheorghina Drumea, of the Moldovan Institute for Human Rights, noted that even if significant changes have been witnessed in Moldova during the past few years, especially as regards the ensuring of equality and combating of discrimination, the institutional and legal systems are deficient and inefficient. For these reasons, the planned results weren’t achieved.

“We want an inclusive society in which each person enjoys basic rights and can freely exercise their rights and feel free regardless of the gender, race, color, ethnic origin, spoken language nationality, sexual orientation, age, religion or political beliefs. The principle of equal treatment should be ensured,” said Alina Andronache, of the Center “Partnership for Development”.

The call is open to signing and this is possible through the email address secretariat.cin@gmail.com.