Council of Europe Adopts 2021-2024 Action Plan for Moldova

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The Committee of Ministers, representing the 47 Council of Europe member states, adopted the 2021-2024 Action Plan for Moldova. A relevant press release published on Thursday says that the document aims "to bring the country's legislation, institutions and practice further in line with European standards in the areas of human rights, the rule of law and democracy," infotag.md reports. According to the Council of Europe, "despite the progress made in the Republic of Moldova, challenges remain in terms of effectively implementing reforms, including in the field of justice." Under the new action plan, the Council of Europe and the Moldovan authorities have agreed "to jointly carry out cooperation projects in areas essential for human rights, such as the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights' case law at national level." A number of measures will be aimed at reforming the prison system and promoting alternatives to detention, advancing the compliance with European standards of media and Internet governance, enhancing data protection and developing the capacity of law enforcement and other agencies to combat corruption and money laundering. The Council of Europe and the Moldovan authorities have also agreed to expand their cooperation in new areas such as legal aid, mediation and reconciliation in criminal matters, combating drug abuse and illicit trafficking in drugs, protecting human rights in the  health sector and addressing new challenges linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic impact, particularly on social rights. Other priorities will be countering human trafficking, preventing and combating violence against women and enhancing local self-government. This is the third action plan of the Council of Europe for Moldova. The previous one, for the period 2017-2020, envisaged consolidation of the institution of the People's Advocate, improvement of conditions for countering discrimination, as well as enhancing professional and operational capacity of the electoral administration to conduct elections. The overall budget of the new plan is estimated at 13.7 million Euros, of which funding of 2.6 million Euros has already been secured.