Moldova can be proud of its progress, Nicola Harrington-Buhay

Moldova can be proud of the progress made in meeting the eight Millennium Development Goals. There is real progress in the first goal to halve poverty, particularly with respect to those living in extreme poverty. There are also solid advancements in issues related to women's empowerment and mortality of women at childbirth, as well as in developing a global partnership and relations with the rest of the world. This was stated by Nicola Harrington-Buhay, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Moldova, in a discussion with Info-Prim Neo's Alina Marin. The areas where Moldova still has “unfinished business”, according to Nicola Harrington-Buhay, are health-related issues, in particular tuberculosis, and environmental goals, including stopping land degradation and improving access to water and proper sanitation. [People need to claim their rights] Nicola Harrington-Buhay said that everything the United Nations does is based on international human rights law and respect for social, political, economic and cultural rights. While the state institutions need to secure these rights, it is the people that need to claim their rights. “The implementation of laws in Moldova is a work in progress. In 2013, there are at least two important laws that need to be adopted. One is the amendment of the National Human Rights Action Plan and the second is the Equality Law. And the more there is discussion on these laws both in Parliament and in society, the more these laws start to have a meaning in the society. That's why the role of the media is so important: to put the issues out and debate them”. [Solidarity is part of the Moldovan character] Nicola Harrington-Buhay says that since she arrived in Moldova in August she feels she has been learning new things every day about our country. “One of the most important pieces of advice that I received was to make sure that I left Chisinau and that I started to travel around the country. And I am very struck by how different different parts of the country are. I am also very impressed with the level of solidarity amongst people and between generations”. “I do feel that here in Moldova solidarity is very strong and I think it's because people are joining forces to deal with important challenges that they have as well. I also think that this solidarity seems to be part of the Moldovan character”. Nicola Harrington-Buhay said that she was also impressed with the quality and taste of the Moldovan fruit and vegetables. [European integration is an agenda of modernization] The UN Resident Coordinator thinks that the European integration aspirations for Moldova are in fact an agenda of institutional, economic and social modernization as well as of strengthening the rule of law. “But what is very important is that Moldova does those things for itself, because it wants these aspects in its society for itself, not because of some external drive”. “If we look at the experience of countries that relatively recently joined the European Union, it was very good for the overall levels of human development. But obviously this process implies a transition, which for some people will be harder than for others”, said Nicola Harrington-Buhay. The UNDP's National Human Development Report, launched on December 7, explores the connection between Moldova's European integration aspirations and human development. It has highlighted that, while in the long term everybody should be able to come up, in the short term it is important to help some particular groups make the transition. Some of the vulnerable sectors, especially those were great numbers of women are employed, will also need help to make it thorough the transition. [A different stage] Nicola Harrington-Buhay thinks that Moldova is now in a different stage than it was when the UN launched its previous framework of cooperation in Moldova five years ago. “It is important for us to continue to work across the executive, the judiciary, the legislature and at the local level. But I think we will move much more in terms of supporting implementation of policies in different areas and, in particular, we want to bring closer together what we do in supporting national reforms with what happens at the local level. Certainly, we will be very keen to expand our work at the local level, because it is about improving the lives of people”, said Nicola Harrington-Buhay, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Moldova. A new program of cooperation “Towards Unity in Action: United Nations - Republic of Moldova Partnership Framework” for 2013-2017 was signed on December 20. Nicola Harrington-Buhay stated on this occasion that she is confident that by 2017, when this Action Plan expires, Moldova will have advanced its European aspirations, its human development and human rights goals, and its national capacities. [Alina Marin, Info-Prim Neo]