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11
July 2008
Chisinau -- In conclusion of their 7-day visit to
Moldova undertaken upon invitation by the Government, the Special Rapporteur
of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Violence against Women, its
causes and consequences, and the Special Rapporteur on Torture and other
forms of cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment, delivered the
following statement:
"At the outset, we would like to express our
appreciation for the full cooperation extended to us by the Government of
Moldova. We are grateful to all our interlocutors, including senior State
officials, representatives of civil society, and victims of violence,
trafficking and torture. A list of places visited and meetings held is
annexed to this statement.
The Republic of Moldova has come a long way in institution
building and human rights protection since independence in 1991. By acceding
to numerous international human rights treaties, it has sent strong signals
about its commitment to put the rights of individuals at the centre of its
public policy formulation and its legal system. In the area of violence
against women as well as torture and ill-treatment, important steps have been
taken to integrate these international standards in the national legal
framework. Just yesterday the Parliament adopted a new law on labour
migration. However, while we commend the Government for the numerous laws,
action plans and programmes that lay down the standards for the rights and
freedoms that everybody should enjoy, we are concerned at the significant
gaps acknowledged by all actors - between the normative framework and the
reality on the ground.
Our findings will be discussed in a more comprehensive way
in the reports we will submit to the United Nations Human Rights Council at a
later stage, today we would like to share our preliminary observations.
Gender equality and violence against women
Whereas gender equality is ensured and promoted by law, in
practice, women experience high levels of unemployment or are concentrated in
low paid sex-type jobs, and encounter strong patriarchal attitudes and
deep-rooted stereotypes that perpetuate the subordinate position of women in
the family and in society. Violence against women, within the family and in
formal institutions, is said to be a widespread phenomenon. Domestic
violence, in particular, is experienced in silence and receives little
recognition among officials, society and women themselves. Unless it results
in serious injuries, domestic violence is, by and large, accepted as a normal
aspect of private life by men and women alike and not considered as a problem
warranting legal intervention. The protective infrastructure for victims of
violence is insufficient, with only one shelter where domestic violence
victims and their children can take refuge.
In addition, the challenges of the transition and the economic
crisis that plagued the country have placed particular burdens on women,
increasing their vulnerability to exploitation, violence and ill-treatment.
Notably in the context of irregular/illegal migration, women fall victim to
slave-like work conditions and/or to trafficking networks. Voluntary or
forced migratory movements are intimately linked with domestic abuse and
economic deprivation. The need to feed their children or to escape an abusive
family environment are strong factors that motivate them to go abroad.
Police ill-treatment and torture, the ineffectiveness of
complaints mechanisms and the execution of punishments
On the basis of discussions with public officials, judges,
lawyers and representatives of civil society, interviews with victims of
violence and with persons deprived of their liberty, often supported by
forensic medical evidence, we conclude that ill-treatment during the initial
period of police custody is widespread. Torture methods such as severe
beatings, with fists, rubber truncheons, and baseball bats, including on
soles, electro-shocks, asphyxiation through gas masks, putting needles under
fingernails and suspension are often used in order to obtain confessions from
suspects, including in the Transnistrian region.
Although the legislation guarantees victims of torture and
ill-treatment the right to file complaints, in practice, they have little
chance of being heard. It is the victims who are asked to prove whether or
not they have been ill-treated. Given the excessive periods suspects spend in
police custody, this is impossible because, in the large majority of cases,
no visible marks remain. One of the key international requirements when it
comes to violence and ill-treatment is the need to prosecute the
perpetrators. Whereas the rising number of indictments for the crime of
torture is encouraging, in the light of the many allegations received, much
remains to be done to ensure that prosecutors, judges, the medical staff and
the staff of penitentiary institutions investigate promptly acts of
ill-treatment.
Also conditions in police custody facilities are a source
of major concern and in some cases, notably in Bălţi and Tiraspol
police headquarters, where persons are held in small, badly ventilated and
partly overcrowded cells without any daylight, amount to inhuman treatment.
With respect to the detention facilities under the Ministry of Justice, it is
notable that we have not received many allegations of ill-treatment. Progress
has been achieved when it comes to improving conditions, including in the
Transnistrian region. However, the long periods many spend in pre-trial
detention violates the principle of the presumption of innocence. With regard
to convicts, international standards require that the criminal execution system
should aim at rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders and many
interlocutors were in agreement that this is not currently the case. On the
contrary, the practice of severely restricting contacts among the prisoners
as well as with the outside world based on various strict regimes,
contravenes this idea. In this context, we would like to underline that the
year-long confinement to cells for persons sentenced to life-imprisonment may
amount to inhuman treatment. This applies even more to the Transnistrian
region, where solitary confinement is required for those convicted to life
imprisonment or capital punishment. Also, it is regrettable that the
so-called "initial regime", recently introduced into the
Penitentiary Code of the Republic of Moldova, exacerbates the situation of
detainees rather than constituting an improvement. Access to health care at
all stages of deprivation of liberty is an issue of concern.
Two promising initiatives
Several measures have been taken by Moldovan authorities
in recent years to prevent human rights violations. We would like to point
out the following ones:
1) The Law on preventing and combating family violence, to
enter into force on 18 September 2008, contains a number of important
provisions, such as on the possibility of granting protective orders obliging
the perpetrator to stay away from the victim, on cooperation between public
administration and civil society organizations, on the protection of the
security of the victim as a human rights principle, and on the possibility
for third parties to file complaints. This Law, together with the Law on
ensuring equal opportunities for women and men, will contribute towards
improved prevention, protection and prosecution of incidents of violence
against women.
2) We commend the Government for establishing a so-called
"national preventive mechanism", an independent committee chaired
by one of the Parliamentary Advocates, which has the right to undertake
unannounced visits to all places where persons can be deprived of their
liberty and to conduct private interviews with all persons detained. Since
such monitoring bodies are among the most effective means of preventing
torture, this, in our view, constitutes a major step towards preventing
torture and ill-treatment in the future.
Preliminary recommendations
It is of utmost importance that effective implementation
and monitoring strategies and mechanisms are developed in order to ensure
that both the mechanisms mentioned above function in practice, including
through allocation of budgetary and human resources. In order to prevent
misconception and biases regarding the nature of violence against women,
plans of action to implement laws and policies should be evidence-based. In
this respect, a national database on violence against women and a prevalence
survey are essential.
On the basis of the new law on labour migration as well as
the mobility partnership with the European Union and bilateral agreements,
decisive measures need to be taken to regulate migratory flows and ratify the
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of their Families.
With respect to preventing and combating trafficking in
human beings, in view of its transnational dimension, we call for shared responsibility
among States for developing bilateral and transnational solutions to the
problem.
We express the hope that the Government views the
"national preventive mechanism" as an ally in a collective effort
of finding out the truth about what happens in places where persons are
deprived of their liberty.
Introducing accessible and confidential complaints
mechanisms, establishing an effective and independent criminal investigation
and prosecution mechanism against alleged perpetrators of torture, reducing
the time limits for police custody to 48 hours, granting access to
independent medical examinations without interference by the prosecutor at
all stages of the criminal process and the transfer of temporary detention
isolators from the Ministry of Interior to the Ministry of Justice should be
considered priorities. The independence of lawyers should be further
strengthened. The situation of conditions in police custody needs to be
improved bearing in mind the presumption of innocence.
The system of execution of punishments should be conceived
in a way that truly aims at rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders, in
particular through abolishing restrictive detention rules, including for
persons sentenced to long prison terms, and maximising contact with the
outside world. Further steps should be taken to improve access to health
care.
By and large the above concerns and recommendations apply
to the Transnistrian region as well, although no independent torture
monitoring mechanism and no law on violence against women have been enacted
so far. Also, the death penalty should be abolished as well as the
requirement for solitary confinement of persons sentenced to capital
punishment or life imprisonment.
The Government's recent initiatives, as well as the
notable efforts of non-governmental organizations for the promotion and
protection of human rights, are indisputable contributions towards the
creation of an enabling environment for combating torture, ill treatment and
violence against women. A life free of torture and violence is possible and
all persons are entitled to it. In this respect, we fully appreciate that
ensuring functioning protection systems for victims of domestic violence and
in the migration context, as well as the implementation of a justice system
in full accordance with international law are costly. We therefore call on
the Government and the donor community to prioritize efforts aiming at
eliminating torture and ill treatment and at empowering women and ending all
forms of violence against them. We also recommend that, whenever possible,
the Transnistrian region be included in the scope of such initiatives."
Short biographical information about the two Special
Rapporteurs
Yakin Ertόrk, Professor of Sociology at Middle East Technical
University in Ankara, Turkey, was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Violence
against Women in 2003 by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Moldova is the seventeenth country she has visited.
For more information on the mandate, please consult: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/women/rapporteur/index.htm
Manfred Nowak was appointed Special Rapporteur on Torture
on 1 December, 2004 by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. He is
Professor of Constitutional Law and Human Rights at the University of Vienna,
and Director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights. Moldova is
the twelfth country he has visited.
For more information on the mandate, please consult: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/torture/rapporteur
Annex
(A) Official meetings
The Special Rapporteurs held meetings with: Her
Excellency, Ms. Zinaida Greceanii, Prime Minister; His Excellency, Mr. Victor
Stepaniuc, Deputy Prime Minister; His Excellency, Mr. Andrei Stratan,
Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration; Her Excellency, Ms.
Larisa Catrinici, Minister of Health; His Excellency, Mr. Vitalie Pirlog,
Minister of Justice; His Excellency, Mr. Valentin Mejinschi, Minister of
Interior; Her Excellency, Ms. Galina Balmos, Minister of Social Protection,
Family and Child; Mr. Valeriu Gurbulea, Prosecutor General; and Mr. Sergiu
Sainciuc, Deputy Minster of Economy and Trade.
In addition, the Special Rapporteurs met with Members of
Parliament, the Head of the Penitentiary Administration; representatives of
the Ministry of Education and Youth, representatives of the Governmental
Committee for Gender Equality and the Bureau for Interethnic Relations,
members of the Supreme Court of Justice and governmental institutions at
local level.
Outside of Government, the Special Rapporteurs met with
representatives of the National Preventive Mechanism, including its Chairman.
They also had discussions with civil society representatives, including
non-governmental organizations, ethnic minorities, religious leaders, persons
in places of detention and victims of violence, trafficking and ill-treatment
and their relatives. In addition, the Special Rapporteurs held meetings with
the United Nations country team, the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, the Delegation of the European Commission, other
members of the diplomatic community and the donors group on gender.
In addition, the delegation met with the so-called Acting
Foreign Minister and the so-called Deputy Head of the Penitentiary
Administration of the Transnistrian region.
(B) Places visited
Chişinău Casa Mărioarei, Centre for
Rehabilitation of Victims of Human Trafficking, Penitentiary institution n.
13, Central temporary detention isolator, Centre for forensic medicine,
Centrul de reabilitare "Memoria
Bălţi Penitentiary institution n. 11, Temporary
detention isolator, Psychiatric hospital
Drochia Maternal Centre "Ariadna"
Soroca Centre for Rehabilitation and Social
Reintegration of Vulnerable Children and Youth "Dacia"
Comrat Temporary detention isolator
Cahul Centre for Training and Counselling for Victims of
Violence, Centre for Children and Youth with Disabilities
Căuşeni Law Centre
Rezina Penitentiary institution n. 17
Cimişlia Temporary detention isolator
Hξnceşti Penitentiary institution n 7 in Rusca
Transnistrian region
Tiraspol Headquarters of the militia
Hlinaia Penitentiary institution n. 1, Investigation
Isolator n. 1
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