Despite the satisfactory legal framework, the situation of human rights defenders in Moldova needs to be improved. The Government should adopt a more positive approach to the human rights defenders and should publicly accept the essential role of civil society, UN Special Rapporteur Michel Forst was quoted by IPN as saying in a news conference in Chisinau on June 29.
“The human rights defenders and journalists are victims of stigmatization campaigns. The lawyers face penal accusations that are politically motivated or are threatened whenever they defend persons with different opinions, while the journalists face the limitation of access to information,” stated Michel Forst. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders noted the Government should bring to an end the punitive attitude to the human rights defenders and should adopt an approach that would offer more support to civil society, despite possible disagreements and criticism.
As to the invalidation of the elections in Chisinau, Michel Forst said he is concerned about the given decision that, according to him, goes against the people’s will and is a step backward in what the democratic institution means.
Michel Forst said in the meetings with representatives of NGOs that defend human rights, he was informed about cases of intimidation and threatening, especially when they criticized the Government’s decisions. “The civil society organizations also made accusations of corruption at the level of judges and prosecutors. I was informed about fabricated penal accusations, such as the conscious passing of an illegal or mistaken decision against judges who try to investigate cases and to take decisions independently, in politically sensitive cases,” he stated.
The rapporteur also paid a visit to the Transnistrian region and was concerned about the introduction of restrictions in the advocacy activities defined as political activities. He noted that this is not in accordance with the international standards.
Michel Forst also expressed his concern about the quality of the cooperation between the civil society members from the National Mechanism for Prevention of Torture and the Office of the People’s Ombudsman. He reminded that the national human rights institutions play a key role in ensuring a safe environment for human rights defenders.
The official expressed his readiness to continue the dialogue and identify methods of strengthening the role of civil society in Moldova and of supporting the Government in its efforts to work out new legislation on the protection of human rights defenders. During his five-day visit to Moldova, the expert met with government officials, representatives of the judicial system, human rights defenders and representatives of civil society, the mass media and the diplomatic community. Michel Forst will present a final report to the Human Rights Council in Genera next March.
