| Moldova_Joint Open Letter_121214 3 pages / 344 KB |
Iurie Leancă
Prime Minister of Republic of Moldova
Dmitri Medvedev
Prime Minister of the Russian Federation
Pavlo Klimkin
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
William H. Moser
Ambassador of United States of
America in Republic of Moldova
Michael Scanlan
Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova
Victor Moraru
Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of the
Republic of Moldova to the United Nations
Re: Concern on the
situation of human rights defenders from the Transnistrian region
Excellencies,
The Promo-LEX Association, Frontline Defenders, Civil
Rights Defenders, and the
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of
the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), are writing to
you regarding the harassment targeting human rights defenders from the
Transnistrian region in the Republic of Moldova.
Brief Description
of the Situation
The pressure cast by the administration in Tiraspol on
human rights defenders from the Transnistrian region intensified in 2013–2014.
Numerous representatives of the civil society are intimidated and subjected to
libel on a daily basis for their work to promote and defend human rights in the
Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova (Transnistria).
Human rights defender Stepan
Popovschi was persecuted by the Tiraspol
administration for his attempts to defend the property rights of thousands of
residents of the region, and to hold public meetings. In March 2013, the
activist’s home was searched, and a “criminal” file was opened against
him. More details on the case are
available here.
Defense attorney Vladimir Maimust has been harassed for his professional activities.
In September 2013, he an attempt was
made to taket his life, when an explosive device was placed in his personal
car. See details here.
Journalists and
human rights defenders Nicolae Buceatchi and Luiza
Dorosenco were accused of
“subversive activities in Transnistria and inciting hatred towards the
current authorities.”
These accusations were formulated in several videos published on YouTube in May
2014. Their complaints to the local investigatory bodies were ignored and were
not followed through with. More details on these cases may be found here. See videos here and here.
The work of human
rights defenders is viewed in the Transnistrian region as subversive, and as an
attempt to undermine the security of the local regime and de facto
administration. This is why the field of human rights is not widely represented at the local level, and
there are no efficient mechanisms or institutions to monitor the situation of
human rights. Nevertheless, in the last year, the local administration took
action to exercise control over human rights defenders and nongovernmental
organizations from the region. See details here.
In the last 12
years, Promo-LEX[1] has been working in the field of human rights protection
and promotion in Moldova, including the Transnistrian region, and encountered
numerous obstacles and difficulties in its work.
On 5 December
2014, human rights defender Alexandru Zubco was banned access to the Transnistrian region. He was detained at the
checkpoint in Bender and his car searched. After approximately 30 minutes,
representatives of local security services (KGB) informed him that he was
banned from the region, as his presence in Transnistria was “not welcome.”
In June 2014, Alexandru
Zubco sued the Transnistrian security service in a court in Tiraspol for a ban
imposed on his personal car in April 2014. The court rejected the application
several times, invoking formal reasons. The application was finally admitted in
October. In his application, the plaintiff requested that the ban be lifted. “I did
not hope for a fair justice in the region, so I submitted the application
namely to see how the mechanism of defending human rights works in Tiraspol.
The hearing was set for 5 December, so I was on my way to Tiraspol to go to
court,” said Alexandru Zubco.
Moldovan constitutional authorities informed Alexandru
Zubco that the illegal “kgb” structures have been monitoring him in connection with
his work with Promo-LEX. Alexandru Zubco has been with Promo-LEX since
2007 and is an active promoter of human rights, well known at the national and
international level.
Relevant national
and international standards
In 1992, the
Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation signed an agreement that
guarantees freedom of movement of goods,
services and persons July, 21 1992. We find however
that the guarantees provided in the respective document are not observed, and
the de facto administration of the Transnistrian region tends to limit access
to the region of various persons, including human rights defenders.
While the access of activists and human rights
defenders to Transnistria is limited, a great number of residents of the region
that face various social, economic or family-related issues and do not have
access to assistance, including legal assistance; therefore, the administration’s abuses continue. National
and international human rights organizations have repeatedly called attention
to the severe human rights situation in Transnistria[2].
The critical situation of human rights in the Transnistrian region was
described in a 2012 report submitted by UN Senior Expert Thomas Hammarberg[3].
The situation has not been monitored since the report’s publication, and no
positive changes have been recorded. The most important issue remains the
impunity or lack of responsibility on the part of the local administration for
their actions and severe human rights violations.
On 9 December 1998, in
its Resolution A/RES/53/144, the UN General Assembly adopted a Declaration on
Human Rights Defenders. The Declaration sets functional and formal guarantees
for activists, journalists, volunteers, who conduct activities to promote and
guarantee human rights. The states where the human rights defenders operate
must ensure and guarantee of these rights. .
In its Resolution adopted on 17 June 2010, the European Parliament
established EU policies in favor of human rights defenders (P7_TA
(2010) 0226), which emphasize that human rights defenders in third countries
should be better protected through more effective EU human rights dialogues,
and stresses the need to systematically raise the issue of the situation of
human rights defenders in all political talks on human rights and in trade
negotiations with third countries. It also reiterates the fact that the
promotion, protection and security of human rights defenders should be
considered as a priority issue in the EU’s relations tierce countries, which should be integrated at all levels
and in all aspects and instruments of EU foreign policy to increase coherence,
effectiveness and credibility of EU support to human rights defenders.
Since the recent acts of intimidation of human rights defenders in
Transnistria by the de facto local administration raise deep concerns, as their rights
to freedom of movement and freedom of expression are constantly violated,
prompt interventions by EU Member States and the Kingdom of Norway, which
shares the same democratic principles in favor of human rights defenders
risking repressions in the Transnistrian region, are urgently needed.
In these
circumstances, WE REQUEST:
5.
Reinforced diplomatic efforts in regional and international
bodies to ensure that human rights are observed in the Transnistrian region of Moldova;
We
sincerely hope that you will take these elements into account.
Yours sincerely,
Civil Rights Defenders
Frontline Defenders
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) in
the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Promo-LEX Association
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in the
framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
[1] Promo-LEX
Association is a civil society organization with special consultative
status with
the UN (ECOSOC), whose purpose is to advance democracy in the
Republic of Moldova through promoting and defending human rights and monitoring
democratic processes. Promo-LEX was created in
2002 and through its advocacy activities ensures legal protection of citizens'
rights, including in the Transnistrian region. Over twelve years of its
activity, over 70 strategic reasons got to the ECtHR, on 21 of them, the Court
ruled positive judgments.
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