On 1 June, a training course for the staff and members of the Moldovan Council for Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring Equality and for the staff of the Ombudsperson Office of the Republic of Moldova on Mediation in cases of discrimination was held in Chisinau.

Ms Chila Van der Bas, the Council of Europe’s consultant, provided the participants with knowledge on the process of mediation in discrimination cases through the example of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, and the key steps of the mediation process and various forms of mediation that exist. A session was dedicated to the analyses of good examples of alternative dispute resolution in other European countries. Working in groups, the participants discussed the advantages and disadvantages of mediation in discrimination cases in relation to legal proceeding and the different ways of referring a case to mediation. The participants could practice the application of the different phases of mediation in a discrimination case.

The training is co-organised within the framework of the Joint EU/CoE project “Supporting national efforts for prevention and combating discrimination in Moldova” and the Council of Europe Project “Support to criminal justice reforms in the Republic of Moldova”, funded by the Government of Denmark.