Background
The year was marked by growing economic hardships, although Moldova successfully re-oriented its energy supplies away from Russia, prior to Ukraine ending the transit of Russian gas. In Russian-occupied Transnistria, this ended the Russian-subsidized energy supply resulting in a significant increase in the cost of living. EU accession negotiations formally began in January, and in October a referendum on amending the constitution to include Moldova’s EU aspirations was passed by a narrow margin. The government’s repeated accusations of Russia’s clandestine interference with the referendum, and the simultaneous presidential election, were supported by independent media investigations and confirmed by top EU diplomats. Maya Sandu was re-elected as president.
According to the UN Development Programme, Moldova was “highly vulnerable to climate change and related disasters” and experienced recurring droughts and floods.
The Transnistria region continued to be governed by de facto authorities of the so-called “Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic”.
Freedom of expression
The Council for the Promotion of Investment Projects of National Importance used its controversial powers (introduced in December 2023) to suspend extrajudicially the broadcasting licences of 25 TV and radio stations.1 In doing so, it relied on undisclosed evidence from the Security and Intelligence Service (SIS), which alleged that the financing of the media companies was suspicious and not transparent.
Seven news websites broadcasting Russian news and presenting Russia’s official narrative on its aggression against Ukraine were blocked following an order issued by the SIS, for allegedly posing national security risks to Moldova.
Authorities in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia passed legislation enabling them to restrict the editorial freedom of the region’s public broadcaster, Gagauziya Radio Television.
On 10 June, amendments to the criminal code came into force that extended the scope of the crime of treason to cover actions in peacetime as well as wartime and removed the requirement that such actions cause direct harm to the state.
Freedom of peaceful assembly
In October, ahead of a farmers’ demonstration against insufficient central government support, some protesters reported being contacted by police and asked whether they intended to participate; some were recommended not to take part. On the day of the demonstration, traffic police arbitrarily prevented farmers driving their agricultural vehicles from reaching the protest location.
Torture and other ill-treatment
The structural issues behind torture and other ill-treatment in detention remained unaddressed. According to data from the Prosecutor General’s Office published in February, four allegations of torture and 373 allegations of other ill-treatment were recorded in 2023. Detainees in adult and juvenile penitentiary institutions continued to suffer overcrowding, unsanitary and otherwise inadequate detention conditions and poor health provision.
Impunity
Impunity for past human rights violations by members of law enforcement agencies prevailed.
There were no further prosecutions following the abduction and forcible return of seven Turkish teachers to Türkiye by Moldovan security services in 2018, beyond the 2020 conviction of the former director of the SIS who was fined for a related economic offence.
Refugees’ and migrants’ rights
As of 8 September, Moldova was hosting 123,183 refugees from Ukraine. Of these only 2% were living in state-provided temporary accommodation centres. In December only 26 such centres remained operational, out of 136 that were opened at the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine; a further eight faced closure. Refugees not rehoused in the remaining centres had to rent accommodation privately or return to Ukraine.
In February the General Inspectorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs rejected asylum claims from five LGBTI persons from Russia, stating that they faced no risk of human rights violations if returned.
Economic and social rights
In May the CERD Committee noted with concern that members of Roma communities continued to experience discrimination in accessing healthcare, housing, education and employment.
LGBTI people’s rights
In June, a Pride march with some 800 participants took place without incident in the capital, Chișinău. However, LGBTI people routinely faced discriminatory attitudes and homophobic statements by religious activists and some officials.
In October, two LGBTI events, the Coming Out Day Fest and the LGBT+ Film Festival, were jeopardized by two hoax bomb threats. Participants were also twice denied access to the rooms reserved for the events.
Right to a healthy environment
In April, the Moldovan Parliament passed a climate action law, committing the country to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 by expanding the use of renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency and investing in sustainable infrastructure.
Transnistria region
Freedom of expression
Independent journalists were not allowed to travel or work in the breakaway region of Transnistria. A freelance journalist, who entered the region without disclosing her intention to cover the January protests against legislative changes in Moldova related to the Transnistria region, was detained by police for hours and interrogated. All her video recordings were deleted.
Freedom of religion and belief
Two local religious communities of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the towns of Tiraspol and Rybnitsa were repeatedly denied re-registration under Transnistria’s 2016 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations. Eight publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses were declared “extremist” by the de facto authorities.
