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