The inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees in remand prisons and penitentiaries were serious violations of human rights in the Republic of Moldova in 2018. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, Olesea Perean, national human rights officer at the UN Office in Chisinau, said problems in 2018 were also experienced in ensuring the rights of minorities and persons with disabilities and some of the civic activists who promote human rights were the targets of media denigration campaigns. There were also particular positive developments, such as the adoption of the national human right action plan in May and the creation of the national council for human rights that is chaired by the Prime Minister, IPN reports.

Olesea Perean said the national human right action plan for 2018-2022, unlike the old one that expired in 2014, was drafted in accordance with the recommendations formulated by the United Nations Human Rights Council for Moldova during the Universal Periodic Review and by the specialized UN committees that evaluated Moldova.

The authorities centered more on social protection in 2018, increasing different categories of social welfare. Challenges continue to exist on other dimensions. A budget for implementing the national human right action plan could not be agreed and a cost for each of the measures stipulated in the plan wasn’t determined. It is thus hard to plan activities to ensure the observance of human rights. The lack of funds has a considerable impact, especially on the respect for such economic and social rights as the right to health, right to social protection and right to education.

As to the cases of inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees in jails in Moldova, Olesea Perean said the legal framework should be amended so that the persons in state custody enjoy the basic guarantees. Also, the conditions in jails should be improved and crowdedness in detention places should be avoided.

The national officer said the rights of persons with disabilities are also violated frequently. The reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities remains one of the evident shortcomings. Moldova has a good legal framework to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, but problems continue to be faced in implementing the guarantees provided by law.

“The promotion of human rights in general is not an easy and simple activity, but, if we look back, positive developments are anyway witnessed if the human rights are claimed. The legal framework of the Republic of Moldova on different dimensions  of human rights has improved compared with 15 years ago. One more step is to be taken: to make sure the rights guaranteed by international standards and the national legislation are implemented at the national level. We cannot be sure this will be an easy path, but this will definitely bring improvements in this regard,” stated Olesea Perean.