Republic of Moldova

NATIONAL AUTHORITIES, INDEPENDENT EXPERTS, MEDICAL EXPERTS, LAWYERS AND THE REPRESENTATIVE OF CIVIL SOCIETY DISCUSSED THE ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND MEDICAL REHABILITATION OF TORTURE VICTIMS

Chişinău, 13 November 2009 – The Torture Prevention Project, funded by the European Commission and co-financed and implemented by United Nations Development Program in Moldova, organized in partnership with The Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims "Memoria", on November 13, 2009 the national conference "The torture victims - medical investigation, access to justice and rehabilitation".

The representatives of Ministry of Health, Ministry of Justice and Penitentiary Institutions Department, Ministry of Domestic Affairs, General Prosecutor's Office, Centre for Human Rights, Centre for Legal Medicine, court trials, international organizations, civil society, and also lawyers, international and national experts, officials from European Network of Rehabilitation Centres for Torture Victims from United Kingdom, France, Germany, Denmark, Romania and Netherlands attended the conference.

The participants discussed the situation regarding the incidence of torture in detentions institutions from Republic of Moldova and the consequences of this phenomena, the role of legal medicine services in investigation of torture cases, the principles of rehabilitation and access to justice for torture victims and also the necessity of improvement of the legislative framework in investigation of torture cases through implementation of Istanbul Protocol by the Republic of Moldova. At the same time the experts formulated the recommendation for Moldavian authorities in implementation of UN Convention against Torture/Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and the Istanbul Protocol.

The aim of the conference was to initiate a constructive dialogue between relevant actors in the field and decision-makers, discussion of torture problem and recommendations for developing a comprehensive National Action Plan for the Prevention of Torture in the Republic of Moldova. This event is the third in a series of meetings in the field of torture prevention and other extreme abuses of human rights in the Republic of Moldova organized within the framework of the Torture Prevention Project.

The aim of Torture Prevention Project is prevention of the prevalence/incidence of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by strengthening the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) in compliance with the UN Convention against Torture/Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) requirements and to promote the national human rights protection and promotion system. The project also helps to create and foster partnerships between NPM and specialized NGOs and public authorities, as well as among them, to ensure the effective response to the cases of torture. The total budget of the Project is 800,000 EURO of which 640,000 EURO was provided by the European Commission and 160,000 EURO by the UNDP.

For contact: Irina Lazur, Communication and Information Coordinator, tel. 232523, e-mail: irina.lazur@un.md