The Moldovan Institute for Human Rights presented a report that includes recommendations for the Government to deal with the irregularities identified during monitoring visits made to closed-type institutions in 2021. Since July 2022, IDOM and the Health and Community Development Center (AFI) have implemented the project “Advocacy for Better Management of Health Crisis”. Experts of the two associations carried out activities to encourage a political dialogue with stakeholders and the public authorities.
“All the authorities responsible for the persons who are in closed-type institutions should abide by the guiding principles concerning medical aspects, observance of human rights, depopulation, equity and proportionality of interventions. The human rights must be respected. There should not be so many disproportionate restrictions. Even if new pandemics appear, we should know how to correctly manage a crisis situation in health,” lawyer Valerian Mămăligă, IDOM expert, told a news conference at IPN.
Lawyer Alexandru Cebanaș, a consultant for the monitoring and reporting program of the Moldovan Institute for Human Rights, said the goal of the project was to systematize all the recommendations and to bring together all the stakeholders to the same table so as to address the experienced problems. As regards the temporary placement centers for persons with disabilities, the experts formulated a series of recommendations for managing the COVID-19 pandemic there.
One of the recommendations is to create an equipped space for ensuring connection with close persons from outside given that the visits in times of pandemic are restricted. The international documents recommend not to impose total bans, but to adjust these reasonably. Conditions should be created for observing the rights of persons in closed-type institutions, but measures should be also taken to prevent the spread of infection. “We often determined that that many problems can be solved by minimum effort and will, but the interaction between particular authorities is absent. We bank on and encourage the state institutions to interact more efficiency so as to increase the level of implementation of recommendations and to ensure the observance of human rights,” stated Alexandru Cebanaș.
Svetlana Doltu, director of the public association AFI, said the principle of equivalence was generally ensured. There is access to diagnostic services, including rapid tests and vaccination, in the community and in places of detention. The difference resides in the procedure. Ensuring communication in times of pandemic is very important. “The right to communicate with those who are outside, with relatives is not only a guarantee stipulated by all the international standards, but is also a psychological support and calamity measure for patients to recover faster,” said Svetlana Doltu. “Health in places of detention represents the health of the population of the Republic of Moldova, public health. There is always a risk that diseases will be transmitted to the community through the agency of persons who visit these places, including employees.”
The project “Advocacy for Better Management of Health Crisis” forms part of the “Eastern Partnership - COVID-19 Solidarity” Program that was launched by the Helsinki Committee of the Netherlands with financial support from the European Union and in partnership with People in Need and AFEW International.
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