Back Taking stock of cooperation with the Police in the Republic of Moldova in the field of anti-discrimination

Throughout the last four years, the General Police Inspectorate of the Republic of Moldova has been close partner of the joint European Union and the Council of Europe (CoE) project “Strengthening access to justice through non-judicial redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in the Eastern Partnership countries”, implemented from January 2019 to February 2023. Cooperation with General Police Inspectorate resulted in a high number of police officers trained on anti-discrimination issues, hate speech and hate crimes, with support from their management to strengthen Police staff capacities to operate in a diverse society. 

The project also supported the national beneficiaries in the Republic of Moldova at large to improve and harmonise the data collection methods related to hate crime cases through various training sessions. A series of joint meetings with the General Police Inspectorate and the Technical Information Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and the Agency for Court Administration, were carried out for discussing recommendations of adjustment of the internal databases of the institutions and assistance needed. The project prepared a recommendation for the adjustment of databases of the Police, Prosecutor's Office and Courts, as well as an instruction for the operators of the database from the General Police Inspectorate.

In the latest phase of the project, the focus of the capacity building was on the inclusion of the victim’s perspective section in the database. Upon finalisation of the internal processes, three video sessions were carried out in February 2023 for 141 operators from Police, with a focus on the new developments of the database on hate crimes, and different aspects related to work on the disaggregated data collection. 

A video that presents milestones in the EU/CoE-Police partnership highlighted the positive impact of project trainings on the daily work of police officers, including the results in reinforcing their skills in guiding citizens when seeking remedies against discrimination, as well as in cases of handling tensions or violence where vulnerable groups are involved. 

 

The video was produced with the support of the joint European Union and the Council of Europe project “Strengthening access to justice through non-judicial redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in the Eastern Partnership countries”, part of the programme “Partnership for Good Governance II, 2019-2022”. 

Chisinau 3 April 2023
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Strasbourg, France Strasbourg, 1-2 July 2024
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Addressing hate speech and hate crime: regional gathering of the network of Equality Bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership Region

A two-day workshop on addressing hate speech and hate crime took place at the premises of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, involving Equality bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership regions.  The event supported by the EU and Council of Europe, gathered 50 representatives from both regions who discussed and exchanged on the best practices, measures and common challenges when addressing hate speech and hate crime. Through monitoring and reporting, policy advocacy, raising awareness and supporting victims equality bodies play a fundamental role in protecting human rights and ensuring that all individuals are treated equally.

In her opening remarks, Angela Longo, Head of Anti-discrimination Co-operation Unit, Council of Europe, underlined the significant progress in engaging with Equality Bodies through this network, regularly exchanging best practices and addressing the challenges of hatred and intolerance in societies. She highlighted that this new chapter of discussion delves into the grey area between hate speech and hate crime, addressing issues of incitement and biases,

Representatives from Equality Bodies had the opportunity to discuss and enhance their knowledge on the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers Recommendation to member States on combating hate crime, adopted on 7th May 2024, as well as gain a clearer understanding of EU standards in the field of hate crime. Moreover, participants engaged in exchanges with peers from the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE), who shared insights on addressing hate speech in the public discourse. The National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) in Italy provided practical examples for developing counter-narratives and raising awareness initiatives.

They also explored opportunities to advocate for legislative reform, foster multisectoral co-operation, enhance data collection, and overall improve national mechanisms to counter hate crimes.

This seminar was organised within the action “Promoting equality and combating racism and intolerance in the Western Balkans” and the project “Promoting equality and non-discrimination: towards more resilient and inclusive societies” – co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe  under the joint Programmes “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” and “Partnership for Good Governance”.

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