Chisinau, 05 December 2023 – On Tuesday 5 December 2023, the Council of Europe, in co-operation with the Audiovisual Council of the Republic of Moldova, organised a roundtable on the monitoring of hate speech in the media during electoral campaigns, with a focus on the local elections held in November 2023 in the country.  

Falk LANGE, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, said: “The actions of support of the Council of Europe, including today’s event, are a step forward in the direction of effectively combating inacceptable forms of expression in the public domain, especially in audiovisual media services. This contributes to the fact that the regulatory institution, but also media broadcasters and stakeholders recognise and deal with the hate speech issues in line with European standards, also very important under the new European perspective of the country.”

Thorsten AFFLERBACH, Head of the Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Programmes Division, Council of Europe, stressed that “the right to freedom of expression, one of the essential foundations of a democratic and pluralistic society carries both rights and duties, responsibilities, and it should not and can’t be abused. These are important aspects to be addressed particularly during electoral periods, for ensuring a comprehensive approach to combating hate speech and discrimination.”

Liliana VIȚU, Chair of the Audiovisual Council of the Republic of Moldova, noted that “The discussions today are important for improving the practices in monitoring hate speech in the Republic of Moldova by the Audiovisual Council, in particular in electoral periods, but also for media outlets and stakeholders, in order to prevent and combat hate speech in audiovisual programmes and services”.

Eduard PESENDORFER, Programme Manager, European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova, acknowledged “The European Union is glad to support the monitoring of hate speech in the media during the electoral campaign for the Moldovan local elections in November 2023. This support to the Audiovisual Council and the Equality Council has been provided under the EU-CoE Partnership for Good Governance. Relevant monitoring mechanism applied by the Audiovisual Council allows for concrete steps in the implementation of the new legislative framework on non-discrimination. The Round Table organised today helped draw important lessons to prevent and combat hat speech in the Moldovan media in the future.”

Preliminary data and analytical findings after monitoring of hate speech during the recent electoral period were presented to participants of the event, such as: this is the first election in which the use of hate speech by electoral competitors was prohibited and could be sanctioned under the Contravention Code. Interim election monitoring reports showed that at least 36 cases of hate speech were identified in the public space and in the media. 

The roundtable gave relevant authorities and actors from the Republic of Moldova and other countries, the opportunity to exchange views and experiences  on best practices, but also challenges in assessing and processing hate speech and discrimination cases in media and public space. These exchanges aimed to improve the practices in preventing and combating hate speech in the media in line with European standards.

Findings of the discussion aim to pave the way ahead to improve the practices in monitoring hate speech in the Republic of Moldova, with specific references to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers Recommendation  on combating  hate speech, adopted in 2022.

This event is part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Partnership for Good Governance”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in the framework of the project “Combating discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes in the Republic of Moldova”.

Background:

The “Partnership for Good Governance” is a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe for strengthening good governance in the Eastern Partnership region.

The Partnership for Good Governance provides tailor-made support to Eastern Partnership countries to bring their legislation and practice closer to European standards in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy. It supports, in particular, Eastern Partnership countries’ domestic reforms to strengthen justice, counter economic crime, promote equality and non-discrimination, advance women’s access to justice and combat violence against women.