The state of the penitentiary system in the Republic of Moldova as regards the observance of the rights of children in detention hasn’t improved during the past two years. On the contrary, it worsened given also the pandemic conditions, said the ombudswoman for children’s rights Maia Bănărescu.
In a working meeting with representatives of the public authorities involved in the process of ensuring the observance of the rights of children in detention, Maia Bănărescu said that during her visits to penitentiaries where minors are held, she ascertained that these do not have warm clothes when it is cold outside. They also wear rubber slippers. Those in charge admitted that the minors have not enough clothes. The food also does not meet the development needs of children. The ombudswoman warned that the menu should be reviewed, especially because not all the children receive food from home. Many children told her that they don’t know what their sentence is. Some of them have never met with lawyers, IPN reports.
Maia Bănărescu pleads in favor of placing all the children into one place, at penitentiary No. 10.
Victor Solomon, consultant at the Children’s Rights Division of the Ombudspersons’ Office, said that at Penitentiaries No.10, 13 and 11, they identified a shortage of personal hygiene products. The ventilation system there wasn’t working and there was an unpleasant smell. The right to education of the minors in detention is violated by not providing textbooks according to the grade, teaching aids and supplies and by not teaching some of the classes or by teaching classes with deviations from the curriculum. The right to family and meetings is neglected as there are no special phone cards, letters are not sent, parcels and visits are banned and this negatively influences the psych-emotional state and the behavior of children in detention. These minors experience psychological degradation, which is regression to their re-socialization and integration into society when they leave detention places.
The right of access to justice and information is limited by formal defense in the trial. The long remand detention or detention of minors together with adults has negative repercussions for the young people. The minors can be attracted to criminal subcultures even if apparently they are separated between them.
The ombudswoman recommends working out and implementing an integration policy in juvenile justice that would not hamper the implementation of the specific provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, creating separate budgetary lines by the National Administration of Penitentiaries intended exclusively for the growth and development needs of children, developing a mechanism of cooperation between the penitentiary, the local authority and the family. She also recommends the Ministry of Justice to take measures to finish the construction of the new bloc of Penitentiary No. 10 so as to create appropriate conditions for the detained children.
