Moldova | HCRW

Moldova regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. In 2017, ODIHR and the OSCE Mission to Moldova co-organized a workshop for police, prosecutors and civil society on understanding and improving hate crime recording and data collection, which led to a set of recommendations for relevant state authorities.

Moldova has set up a "Strategic Group" tasked with identifying gaps in the capacity of police to effectively identify and investigate hate crimes. Moldova's National Human Rights Action Plan (2018-2022) also addresses hate crimes, and has provided a basis for the adoption of internal action plans related to hate crime recording and data collection, hate crime investigation, and hate crime training.

Following a request by Moldova's Ministry of Justice, in 2016 ODIHR provided a legal opinion on draft amendments related to bias-motivated offences. ODIHR's recommendations were largely reflected in amendments to the Criminal Code adopted by the Moldovan Parliament and published on 3 June 2022.

SELECT YEAR

Download the 2020 hate crime report for Moldova

OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES

Year	Hate crimes recorded by police	Prosecuted	Sentenced
2023	7	1	2
2022	7	6	3
2021	8	1	7
2020	8	2	2
2019	Not available	Not available	Not available
2018	10	5	41
2017	17	5	10
2016	5	5	5
2015	0	0	1
2014	1	1	Not available
2013	4	Not available	0
2012	3	Not available	Not available
2011	Not available	Not available	Not available
2010	Not available	Not available	Not available
2009	2	0	0

Download official data

National developments

In 2020, the police, prosecution, and judiciary benefitted from the Council of Europe's regional project "Strengthening the access to justice for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in the Eastern Partnership" (1 February 2019 – 31 December 2021) funded by the European Union. In particular, the project addressed the area of hate crime data collection, including the necessary IT solutions, based on the "Situational analysis on discrimination, hate crime and hate speech disaggregate data collection in the Republic of Moldova" prepared under the same project in November 2019 and the report entitled "Disaggregated data collection on hate crime, hate speech and discrimination in the Republic of Moldova: recommendations and situational analysis" published in September 2020.

In December 2020, 17 police officers (9 men and 8 women) took part in a training of trainers on the identification and investigation of hate crimes, co-organized by the OSCE Mission to Moldova and the Joint Law Enforcement Training Centre of the Moldovan Ministry of Internal Affairs Academy.

KEY OBSERVATION

ODIHR recognizes Moldova's efforts to address hate crime data collection mechanisms. Continuing in the same vein is encouraged in the area of hate crime recording as, based on the available information, ODIHR observes that the law enforcement agencies of Moldova have not been recording the bias motivations behind hate crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that Moldova would benefit from reviewing its existing legal framework in order to ensure that bias motivation can be effectively acknowledged and appropriate penalties can be imposed on the perpetrators.

ODIHR recalls that in the Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, participating States have committed to promptly investigating hate crimes and ensuring that the motives of those convicted of hate crimes are acknowledged. To that end, the law enforcement agencies must, first of all, record the bias motivations behind hate crimes. In the Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, participating States have also committed to enacting specific, tailored legislation to combat hate crimes, providing for effective penalties that take into account the gravity of such crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support Moldova in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as further resources and tailored legislative advice.

Our methodology

INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY

Total Incidents
Targeted properties
Type of property attacks

Racist and xenophobic hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2020-06	Threats/Harassment	UNHCR	Show info
2020-12	Violent attacks against people	UNHCR	Show info
2020-04	Threats/Harassment	UNHCR	Show info

Anti-Roma hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2020-05	Threats/Harassment	European Roma Rights Center (ERRC)	Show info

Anti-Semitic hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2020-10	Attacks against property	Kantor Center OSCE Mission to Moldova	Show info

Anti-Muslim hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2020-06	Threats/Harassment	UNHCR	Show info

Gender-based hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2020-01	Violent attacks against people	GenderDoc-M	Show info

Anti-LGBTI hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2020	Violent attacks against people	GenderDoc-M	Show info
2020-01	Violent attacks against people	GenderDoc-M	Show info
2020	Threats/Harassment	GenderDoc-M	Show info
2020-07	Violent attacks against people	GenderDoc-M	Show info
2020-07	Violent attacks against people	GenderDoc-M	Show info
2020	Violent attacks against people	GenderDoc-M	Show info
2020	Violent attacks against people	GenderDoc-M	Show info
2020-06	Violent attacks against people	GenderDoc-M	Show info
2020-05	Violent attacks against people	GenderDoc-M	Show info
2020-07	Violent attacks against people	GenderDoc-M	Show info
2020-04	Violent attacks against people	GenderDoc-M OSCE Mission to Moldova	Show info
2020-12	Violent attacks against people	UNHCR	Show info

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Racist and xenophobic hate crime

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published relevant recommendations in its "Conclusions on the Implementation of the Recommendations in Respect of Moldova."