Brief description:

The Project’s extensive support has been provided to the Ombudsperson institution and the National Preventive Mechanism (hereinafter-NPM) in implementing their mandates in line with international standards recognised by the UN Paris Principles and the UN/CoE conventions against torture and to improve the human rights protection and rule of law.

The expert assistance that was channelled to the Ombudsperson’s office contributed to the establishment of the NPM, in a new set-up, in October 2016 as one of the important instruments in preventing torture and ill-treatment and protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms within the places of deprivation of liberty. Further expert and technical assistance has been provided to the NPM to enhance its capacities.

The enhancement of capacities of the Ombudsperson’s office has been persued through training, workshops, study visits and other activities pertaining to their mandate.

Project’s achievements as of end 2016:

• The NPM was re-established in October 2016, in a new format, in line with the Law on the Ombudsperson of 2014.
• The internal regulation on the functioning of the NPM was developed and adopted in June 2016;
• Two internal documents regarding the functioning of the NPM were elaborated with the support of the local NGO “Human Rights Institute of Moldova”, to enable effective and efficient operation of the NPM in accordance with the Optional Protocol under the UN Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) and other international and European standards and best practices;
• Institutional and professional capacities of the Ombudsperson’s Office have been consolidated;
• The needs of the Ombudsperson Institution have been assessed and relevant processes have been launched for the development of the intranet system for the Ombudsperson office, with increased efficiency in e-case management, data collection and generation of statistical information.
• The quality of the Ombudsperson’s annual reporting was enhanced and for the first time the report was publicly presented and discussed.

How these have been achieved:

• Expertise on the Law on Ombudsperson of 2014 (NPM chapter) and the internal regulation on the functioning of the NPM was provided and public consultation of the draft regulation was facilitated;
• Extensive legal expertise and technical assistance was provided to enhance the functionality of the NPM making necessary recommendations on their improvement;
• Approximately 30 employers of the Ombudsperson’ office enhanced their skills during a study visit and four trainings/workshops on topics pertaining to their mandate;
• A workshop and expert recommendations were provided to improve the quality of the Ombudsperson’s annual report.