External pressure and civil society’s contribution are the major forces that generate changes in the area of human rights. Info-Prim Neo interview with Sergiu Ostaf, the head of the Human Rights Resource Center CreDO

[ - The Moldovan authorities are permanently criticized by the European organizations and NGOs for their mediocre progress in guaranteeing human rights. Which are the three major problems in the area?] - The three key problems concerning the civilian and political rights are: 1) ill-treatment and torture in prisons and other detention institutions; 2) non-observance of the right to a fair and equitable trial; 3) non-independent public mass media and inefficient regulation of the private media outlets. Unfortunately, many penitentiaries, preventive detention isolators, residential institutions and psychiatric institutions for children, adults and other socially vulnerable groups of people still witness ill-treatment and inhuman conditions. This is due to the fact that the criminal policies focus mainly on the excessive punishment, while the social and health polices contain excessive forms of institutionalization of the vulnerable persons. National and international organizations say that the changes in these areas are too slow. It is a shame that we still have torture in the enquiry process. This is proven by the cases lost at the European Court of Human Rights and by the information provided by the specialized institutions and organizations. The quality of the legal system is also a major problem. Institutional changes were made with a view to strengthening the independence of the judiciary, but the quality of justice leaves much to be desired and makes the people file applications to the ECHR. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe pointed to the slow progress in insuring the editorial autonomy, transparency and plurality in the activity of the National Public Broadcaster “Teleradio-Moldova”. The activities, positions and attitudes of the political groups that are not in power are covered less and in a summary form. The regulatory framework and work experience of the Broadcasting Coordination Council is inadequately predictable as regards the granting of licenses. [ - Who should undertake the task of improving the situation in the area of human rights. Did the NGOs use up their resources?] - This is incontestably the task of the public authorities that, by pursuing efficient and high-quality polices, should guarantee the respect for human rights. The given task includes the perception of the causes of the existent problems and the formulation of policies based on evidence and relevant practices that can provide efficient solutions appropriate for our society. The authorities must also monitor the results produced by the policies. The public authorities’ ability to perform this task is limited. There are many constraints as regards the presence of the necessary skills, resources and modern technology for fulfilling these duties. The specialized organizations do not have such a task, but can contribute significantly towards promoting the respect for human rights. Some of the organizations monitor the human rights and inform the society about the alarming cases and situations. Other organizations look for and work out solutions to cases when the human rights are violated. Both of the duties are important and useful for the society, especially if they are designed to safeguard the public interest, not the interests of the institution. The task of looking for and formulating solutions is important because the public authorities often do not have the capacities needed to find solutions, especially capacities to put them into practice. [ - What about the ombudspersons’ work? Are the resources allocated to the Human Rights Center of Moldova (CpDOM) used efficiently?] - The new members of the CpDOM have not yet asserted themselves and have not yet set out their priorities. The lack of relevant performance, image and reputation hinders the Center from asserting itself. The CpDOM only examines cases, prepares reports, informs the Constitutional Court and carries out talks through non-coercive methods with the public authorities. The Center cannot formulate policies as the ministries do and cannot implement them as the public agencies and institutions do. So, the Center’s contribution towards the observance of the human rights cannot be exaggerated. In 2008, the personnel of the CpDOM were extended to 50 persons. Previously, the number of employees was very low. The Center should also strengthen considerably the task of monitoring and analyzing the situations and cases that lead to the violation of human rights. The reports and findings of the CpDOM can be used as appropriate and correctly correlated sources by the specialized NGOs, professional groups, etc. The reports should contain thorough analyses of the problems, pointing to the institutional and mentality causes, habits, attitudes, economic and other factors. The findings can be used to modify the deficient or inefficient polices. Another task performed by the CpDOM only is to negotiate, inform and cooperate with the relevant public authorities in improving their work in the area of human rights. In the relations with the Parliament of Moldova, this task will not be limited to yearly reports only, but will include cooperation with the expert parliamentary commissions in monitoring the observance of human rights. The Center practically does not use this task in the relations with the ministries and central public executive institutions. The performance of the given task will enable to more efficiently use the public resources allocated to the CpDOM. [ - Did the human rights situation in 2008 improve compared with the previous years?] During the last five years, Moldova made progress in adopting policies on human rights. The progress is yet insignificant compared with the results achieved by the Central and Eastern European states. In most of the cases, the adoption of the legislation does not include the adoption of coherent and systematic polices for implementing the passed laws. Therefore, the results are often modest or are only formal. The effects of the measures fade away if they are not further implemented. Among the major difficulties and obstacles are the Government’s poor capacities to formulate the effective options of the policies and to put the necessary polices into practice. The resources offered by the civil society are not used systematically. The executive does not adequately consult and involve the civil society in policymaking. The fact that the decision makers, including the politicians, do not realize the importance of the policies on human rights is another serious obstacle. The policies on the promotion of human rights are not consistently interiorized by the political forces. So, the external pressure exerted through such documents as the EU-Moldova Plan of Action, and the civil society’s contribution are the major forces that generate changes in the area of human rights.