Hate speech and hate crime are phenomena faced by many individuals and communities, especially the most vulnerable in the society. Hate and incitement to it is spreading throughout Europe, the Republic of Moldova being no exception. Those more vulnerable in the society, such as Roma community members, persons with disabilities or LGBTI persons are among the most exposed to hatred, facing difficulties in seeking protection.
The Council of Europe together with the District Council of Calarasi has organised a round table on "Supporting vulnerable groups against hate and bias-motivated violence at local level" which brought together representatives of local authorities, social workers, community mediators, police representatives and Civil Society Organisations from Calarasi district.
The results of the discussion in Calarasi brought to the same conclusions, enabling exchange of experiences and identifying needs in this area at the local level. The participants highlighted the importance of activities organised at grassroots level, such as capacity building for all relevant actors, and confirmed the willingness to take part in the further activities that will contribute to awareness raising, promoting and protecting citizens in need of some kind of support.
This meeting was a follow up to the previous signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Council of Europe’s project "Strengthening Equality and Diversity in the Republic of Moldova" and the Calarasi District Council, which foresees establishment of working group of relevant local actors that will contribute to the implementation of activities designed to provide assistance to victims, prevent and protect citizens against all forms of discrimination and hatred, in particular to vulnerable groups at risk of bias-motivated crime.
This event is part of the European Union and Council of Europe joint programme “Partnership for Good Governance”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in the framework of the regional project “Combating discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes in the Republic of Moldova”.
