The breakdown below excludes cases that fall outside of the OSCE's hate crime definition, including the violation of citizens' equal rights, the desecration of state symbols, and participation in mercenary activities.
In 2022, Moldova implemented two projects supported by the Council of Europe:
- A regional project on "Strengthening the access to justice through non-judiciary redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in Eastern Partnership countries", funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II.
- A national-level project on "Enhancing diversity and equality in the Republic of Moldova".
As a result of these two projects, the criminal records database was upgraded and training initiatives on hate crime were organized in 2022.
Law No.111 for the amendment of certain legal acts (Criminal Code and Contraventions Code) was passed and entered into force. New provisions related to hatred, base motives and discrimination were introduced. In particular, the phrase "social, national, racial and religious hatred" in the provisions of the Criminal Code was replaced by the phrase "bias motivation". A new article to define the term "bias motivation" was also introduced (Article 134).
Also in 2022, eight police officers were certified by the Council of Europe as hate crime trainers. Between July and September, the trainers held information sessions on "Discrimination and hate crime" in 42 regional police inspectorates, the National Public Security Inspectorate, the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and the Police Directorate of Chisinau, attended by about 2,200 police officers. In addition, specialized courses on hate crimes were organized for 50 criminal investigation officers from the Central region of Moldova.
Throughout the year, training efforts on hate crimes organized by the National Justice Institute trained 15 prosecution candidates and 10 judicial candidates as part of their initial training, as well as 124 judicial system professionals as part of their continuous training programmes.
This category includes hate crimes motivated by a bias based on opinion.
ODIHR recognizes Moldova's efforts to improve hate crime data collection and build the capacity of criminal justice officials to address hate crime. In addition, ODIHR observes that Moldova’s hate crime recording and statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that Moldova would benefit from developing its victim support system to ensure effective access to justice, assistance, and protection services for hate crime victims.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States agreed to a definition of hate crime shared by all OSCE participating States, and committed to collecting reliable data and statistics on hate crimes. To that end, hate crimes need to be distinguished throughout the recording and data collection process from discrimination and hate speech. Participating States also committed to providing hate crime victims with access to counselling and legal assistance, as well as effective access to justice. Ensuring a positive interaction between police and hate crime victims requires the training of front-line officers, including on providing referrals to victim support and protection services.
ODIHR stands ready to support Moldova in meeting the relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as through further comprehensive resources and assistance in the area of hate crime victim support.
🛈 Please note that the total number of incidents may be lower than the sum of incidents presented in the breakdown chart above, as some incidents involve multiple bias motivations.
🛈 ODIHR no longer presents descriptions of property attacks in the incident tables below. Data on property attacks are presented in the breakdown charts above. One property attack may target multiple properties or involve multiple types of attack.