The role of human rights and equality in social cohesion was discussed at an international conference entitled “Protection and promotion of fundamental human rights in the context of new challenges and realities existing in modern societies”. In the discussions, national and foreign experts came with their expertise and recommendations for decision makers of the Republic of Moldova, IPN reports.
“Social cohesion is an indicator, a barometer that shows the social ties and how safe each person feels in Moldovan society. The past five years have been difficult from a number of viewpoints for societies across the globe, including for European societies, starting with the COVID pandemic that made us stay at home, fully changed people’s lives and widened the social distance between people,” said deputy ombudswoman Oxana Gumenaya. During this period, a number of problems were revealed, related to the postponement of hospitalization of persons with serious diseases, reduced access to medicines for patients with rare diseases. The Ombudsman’s Office in the period monitored the situation of prisoners and also of children, to see how these had access to education given the necessity of having digital skills.
Alice Szczepanikova, Migration and Freedom of Movement Adviser at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw, spoke about the importance of monitoring the rights of persons who need international protection. “The human rights institutions play a central role as advocates and guardians. They should be equipped with resources and should be politically independent so that they could monitor the detention places, prevent any abuse and comply with international standards. The principle of non-discrimination should be at the core of these efforts. All the persons, regardless of origin, cultural or ethnic similarities or differences should have legal access to protection and support,” stated Alice Szczepanikova.
Ian Feldman, president of the Moldovan Equality Council, noted that social cohesion grew considerably when the war in Ukraine started and the people mobilized to help Ukrainians. “I was very enthusiastic when I saw Moldovan society’s response. It seems to me that social cohesion in the Republic of Moldova in that period was at a very high level. We all combined forces to help the people who were fleeing from war,” stated Ian Feldman.
Olesea Perean, program specialists, cluster lead, effective governance, UNDP Moldova, said moral unity is one of the ingredients of social cohesion. “We all should realize what direction this society follows. When Russia’s aggression against Ukraine started, we all aimed to help those people and to behave as a whole. Later, as this connection hadn’t been fueled by the political factor, it faded away. It is important for civil society, the development partners to make the political factor realize why it is important for them to stimulate confidence in institutions and between people. We must popularize this dimension of trust, including with political decision makers,” stated Olesea Perean.
Those attending the discussion agreed that the observance of human rights should be intensely promoted so as to increase confidence in society – between people and between institutions.
