Early during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Moldovan Parliament declared a 60-day state of emergency (17 March – 15 May 2020) after 29 cases of COVID-19 were registered. While most of the restrictions were gradually dropped, the country nevertheless began to see increases in infections, which began to spike at the end […]
Last updated: September 2021
Moldova operates a Centre for Temporary Detention of Foreigners in Chișinău. The facility, open since 2009, received funding from the the European Union and Finland. The facility has been the focus of criticism, in particular for its role in detaining foreigners for political reasons. In a 2018 case involving the detention of Turkish nationals, the European Court of Human Rights found that Moldova detained the individuals in a way that "amounted to an extra-legal transfer of persons from the territory of the respondent State to Turkey which circumvented all guarantees offered to them by domestic and international law."
See:
European Court of Human Rights (2019), Case of Ozdil and others v. the Republic of Moldova," http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-193614
Transnational Institute, "OUTSOURCING OPPRESSION: How Europe externalises migrant detention beyond its shores," 2021, https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/outsourcingoppression-report-tni.pdf
European Commission, "REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Fifth Report on the implementation by the Republic of Moldova of the Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation," 2013, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ET/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52013DC0807
DETENTION STATISTICS
DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Bilateral/Multilateral Readmission Agreements
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
LENGTH OF DETENTION
DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS
COSTS & OUTSOURCING
COVID-19 DATA
TRANSPARENCY
MONITORING
Types of Authorised Detention Monitoring Institutions
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)
GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2006
2006
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2005
2005
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2005
2005
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1995
1995
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 14/19
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Treaty Body
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Recommendation Year
2024
Recommendation Excerpt
25. (a)Reports of discrimination in access to international protection against refugees and asylum-seekers who are not Ukrainian nationals and cases of expulsions and pushbacks of such persons;
(b)Reports of deportations, extraditions and forcible returns of migrants and asylum-seekers in need of international protection, in violation of the principle of non‑refoulement.
26. Recalling its general recommendation No. 30 (2004) on discrimination against non-citizens, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adopt effective measures to eliminate discrimination against refugees and asylum - seekers , regardless of their national or ethnic origin, refrain from conducting collective expulsions and pushbacks, and provide access to its territory for persons in need of international protection;
(b) Refrain from deporting, returning or extraditing any individuals, regardless of their status, respect ing the principle of non-refoulement when there are substantial grounds for believing that the y would be at risk of irreparable harm upon return on account of torture, ill-treatment or other serious violations of human rights;
(c) Conduct investigations into cases of deportation, extradition, forcible return, collective expulsion and pushback of migrants and asylum - seekers by law enforcement officials.
(b)Reports of deportations, extraditions and forcible returns of migrants and asylum-seekers in need of international protection, in violation of the principle of non‑refoulement.
26. Recalling its general recommendation No. 30 (2004) on discrimination against non-citizens, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adopt effective measures to eliminate discrimination against refugees and asylum - seekers , regardless of their national or ethnic origin, refrain from conducting collective expulsions and pushbacks, and provide access to its territory for persons in need of international protection;
(b) Refrain from deporting, returning or extraditing any individuals, regardless of their status, respect ing the principle of non-refoulement when there are substantial grounds for believing that the y would be at risk of irreparable harm upon return on account of torture, ill-treatment or other serious violations of human rights;
(c) Conduct investigations into cases of deportation, extradition, forcible return, collective expulsion and pushback of migrants and asylum - seekers by law enforcement officials.
Sources
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, "Concluding observations on the combined twelfth to fourteenth periodic reports of the Republic of Moldova *", 23 May 2024, United Nations General Assembly, (Paragraph 25), https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CERD%2FC%2FMDA%2FCO%2F12-14&Lang=en
Treaty Body
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Recommendation Year
2017
Recommendation Excerpt
§ 37. "The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that no migrant children are detained because of their migration status or that of their parents, and afford children migrants their rights under the Convention, including access to education, health care and social protection...
48. The Committee recommends that the State party, in order to further strengthen the fulfilment of children’s rights, ratify the core human rights instruments to which it is not yet a party, namely, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance."
48. The Committee recommends that the State party, in order to further strengthen the fulfilment of children’s rights, ratify the core human rights instruments to which it is not yet a party, namely, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance."
Sources
Committee on the Rights of the Child, "Concluding Observations on the Combined Fourth and Fifth Periodic Report of the Republic of Moldova," CRC/C/MDA/CO/4-5, 20 October 2017, https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G17/324/41/PDF/G1732441.pdf?OpenElement
Treaty Body
Committee against Torture
Recommendation Year
2017
Recommendation Excerpt
§ 28. The State party should facilitate rapid and equitable access to an individualized refugee status determination procedure; promptly provide information on the right to seek asylum; refrain from detaining asylum seekers; detain undocumented migrants only as a measure of last resort and for as short a time as possible, including by using alternatives to detention; and ensure full respect for the principle of non-refoulement.
Sources
Committee against Torture, "Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Republic of Moldova," CAT/C/MDA/CO/3, 28 November 2017, https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/document/28e847f0-2644-4061-8f64-c105a1418672
> UN Special Procedures
> UN Universal Periodic Review
Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Year Issued
2022
UPR Cycle
3rd
Recommendation Excerpt
131. It recommended that the Government introduce alternatives to immigration detention in law and apply them in practice, provide humane and dignified conditions of immigration detention, and take into account the situation of persons with specific needs, including vulnerable individuals.
138. JS16 recommended that the Government stop immigration detention of children and separation from both parents, and elaborate adequate alternatives to detention.
138. JS16 recommended that the Government stop immigration detention of children and separation from both parents, and elaborate adequate alternatives to detention.
Sources
Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, "Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Summary of Stakeholders on the Republic of Moldova", 4 February 2022, Fortieth session, Cycel 3rd, https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/WG.6/40/MDA/2
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2011
Sources
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Republic of Moldova, A/HRC/19/18, 14 December 2011, https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/moldova_republic_of/session_12_-_october_2011/a_hrc_19_18_republic_of_moldova_e.pdf
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2016
Sources
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Republic of Moldova, A/HRC/34/12, 21 December 2016, https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/moldova_republic_of/session_26_-_november_2016/a_hrc_34_12_en.pdf
> Global Compact for Migration (GCM)
> Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
CPCSE, Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse2012
2012
2017
ECHRP1, Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights (amended by protocol 11)1997
1997
2017
ECHRP7, Protocol 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights (amended by protocol 11)1997
1997
2017
ECPT, European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment1997
1997
2017
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
HEALTH IMPACTS
COVID-19
Country Updates
Early during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Moldovan Parliament declared a 60-day state of emergency (17 March - 15 May 2020) after 29 cases of COVID-19 were registered. While most of the restrictions were gradually dropped, the country nevertheless began to see increases in infections, which began to spike at the end of September 2020. As of 26 October, Moldova had registered 71,503 cases as well as 1,685 COVID-related deaths. In response to the onset of the second wave, President Igor Dodon said that the country would cope without implementing a new set of restrictive measures like closing schools.
The GDP has been unable to establish the extent to which detention facilities are currently used in Moldova as part of immigration enforcement procedures or obtain details on COVID-19 related measures taken to safeguard people in immigration custody. However, in April 2020, UNHCR reported that it had held more than 600 counselling sessions with asylum seekers, refugees, stateless persons and applicants for stateless status. Subsequently, UNHCR conducted an assessment of the impact of the pandemic on persons of concern. The assessment focused on asylum seekers accommodated in the Temporary Accommodation Centre (TAC), a temporary shelter for asylum seekers and vulnerable refugees, as well as refugees and stateless persons residing in different regions of the country.
According to UNHCR’s COVID-impact report, as of 1 July, Moldova was hosting 431 refugees. The main countries of origin were Turkey, Bangladesh, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Syrian Arab Republic. In addition, as of 30 June, 24 out of 80 registered asylum seekers in the country resided in the TAC, and in the first half of 2020, 43 new asylum seekers were registered with the Bureau for Migration and Asylum in Moldova. Furthermore, as of 1 June, Moldova hosted 1,899 stateless persons, of whom 44 percent were of Russian origin, 29 percent Ukrainian, 15 percent Moldovan, and 12 percent of other origins.
As regards the country’s prisons, on 12 March, the Ministry of Justice announced the suspension of visits in prisons, as well as the compulsory wearing of a mask by staff. In addition, on the same day, the Ministry of Justice announced that a special regime would be put in place in prisons to avoid the spread of the virus. The plan includes, inter alia, the drafting of daily medical reports and turning available spaces (gym, classroom, etc.) into isolation rooms. On 9 June, the European Council donated protective material to the Moldovan prison administration to provide support to detainees and prison staff.
Government Agencies
Ministry of foreign affairs - https://mfa.gov.md/en
General Inspectorate of Migration - https://igm.gov.md/en/imigration/
Ministry of Internal Affairs - https://mai.gov.md/en
International Organisations
UNHCR Country Page - https://www.unhcr.org/where-we-work/countries/republic-moldova
IOM Country Page - https://moldova.iom.int/
ILO Country Page - https://www.ilo.org/regions-and-countries/europe-and-central-asia/moldova-republic
NGO & Research Institutions
Ombudsman office - https://ombudsman.md/en/
Support for Refugees (HIAS) - https://hias.org/where/moldova/
HEKS - https://en.heks.ch/heks-moldova
Human Rights Watch - https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/moldova
Amnesty Country Page - https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/europe-and-central-asia/eastern-europe-and-central-asia/moldova/
Human Rights Traning - https://www.coleurope.eu/news/human-rights-training-republic-moldova
