Moldova

Detains migrants or asylum seekers?

Yes

Has laws regulating migration-related detention?

Yes

Reported Population (Single Day)

13

2023

Refugees

105,374

2022

Asylum Applications

3,620

2022

International Migrants

104,438

2020

Overview

(March 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."

Types of facilities used for migration-related detention
Administrative Ad Hoc Criminal Unknown

26 October 2020 – Moldova

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 […]

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A Guard Standing in Front of the Chișinău Centre for Eastern Border Migrants, (EU/ENPI,
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

Total Migration Detainees: Flow + Stock (year)
Not Available
2019
Reported Population (Day)
13
2023
7
2022

DETAINEE DATA

Total Number of Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
0
2017

DETENTION CAPACITY

ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA

PRISON DATA

Criminal Prison Population (Year)
7,762
2017
Percentage of Foreign Prisoners (Year)
1.1
2015
Prison Population Rate (per 100,000 of National Population)
219
2017

POPULATION DATA

Population (Year)
3,400,000
2023
4,000,000
2020
International Migrants (Year)
104,438
2020
104,713
2019
International Migrants as Percentage of Population (Year)
2.59
2020
Refugees (Year)
105,374
2022
349
2021
431
2020
417
2019
418
2018
401
2017
394
2016
446
2015
335
2014
Ratio of Refugees Per 1000 Inhabitants (Year)
0.11
2016
Asylum Applications (Year)
3,620
2022
162
2019
115
2016
Stateless Persons (Year)
3,307
2022
4,451
2018
4,569
2017
4,776
2016

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS

MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

Does the Country Detain People for Migration, Asylum, or Citizenship Reasons?
Yes
2023
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Yes
2023

GOVERNANCE SYSTEM

Legal Tradition(s)
Civil law
2017

LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

GROUNDS FOR MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

LENGTH OF MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION INSTITUTIONS

PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS

DETENTION MONITORS

Types of Authorised Detention Monitoring Institutions
The Centre for Human Rights of Moldova (Avocatul Poporului) (National Human Rights Institution (or Ombudsperson) (NHRI))
2016
The Centre for Human Rights of Moldova (Avocatul Poporului) (OPCAT National Preventive Mechanism (NPM))
2014

> National human rights monitoring bodies

> National Preventive Mechanisms (Optional Protocol to UN Convetion against Torture)

> Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

> Governmental monitoring bodies

> International detention monitoring

TRANSPARENCY

READMISSION/RETURN/EXTRADITION AGREEMENTS

Bilateral/Multilateral Readmission Agreements
Georgia (2016)
2017
Ukraine (1998)
2017
Russian Federation (2011)
2017
Serbia (2011)
2017
Albania (2013)
2017
Switzerland (2011)
2017
Switzerland (2004)
2017
Romania (2002)
2017
Norway (2006)
2017
Malta (2011)
2017
Lithuania (2011)
2017
Lithuania (2004)
2017
Italy (2004)
2017
Estonia (2010)
2017
Denmark (2011)
2017
Czech Republic (2012)
2017
Czech Republic (2004)
2017
EU (2008)
2017

COVID-19

HEALTH CARE

COVID-19 DATA

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CRSSP, Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
2012
2012
CRPD, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
2010
2010
OPCAT, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2006
2006
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2005
2005
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2005
2005
CRSR, Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
2002
2002
PCRSR, Protocol to the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
2002
2002
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1995
1995
CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
1994
1994
ICCPR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
1993
1993
ICESCR, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
1993
1993
CRC, Convention on the Rights of the Child
1993
1993
VCCR, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
1993
1993
ICERD, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
1993
1993
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 14/19
Relevant Recommendations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee against Torture § 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. 2017
2017
Committee on the Rights of the Child § 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." 2017
2017

NON-TREATY-BASED INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Relevant Recommendations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
No 2016
2017
No 2011
2017

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 Abuse 2012
2012
2017
CATHB, Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings 2006
2006
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 Punishment 1997
1997
2017
ECHR, Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (commonly known as the European Convention on Human Rights 1997
1997
2017

DETENTION COSTS

OUTSOURCING

FOREIGN SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR DETENTION OPERATIONS