Today, the Office of the Ombudsman in cooperation with the Council of Europe Office in Moldova organized the launching event of the Council for the Prevention of Torture as a mechanism to prevent torture. The purpose of this event was to introduce the new members of the Council for the Prevention of Torture and to facilitate their collaboration with the institutions that ensure detention of persons.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Department of Penitentiary Institutions, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Work, Social Protection and Family, the Prosecutor, but also heads of prisons, heads of psychiatric hospitals, heads of boarding schools for children with mental disabilities, and representatives of UNDP, OSCE.
During the event, Ombudsman, Mihail Cotorobai presented to the public the ember of the Council for the Prevention of Torture, Michael Gorincioi, Svetlana Doltu, Radu Nicoara and Ceslav Panico, which, in turn, have provided data on their previous activity. They talked about Moldova's obligations under OPCAT, the Council's competences for preventing torture, and the rights of the members of the Board during the mandate.
Mihail Cotorobai expressed hope that once formed, the Council will be functional despite shortcomings in the provisions of Law no. 52 which refers to the national mechanism to prevent torture. The ombudsman has expressed confidence that today's meeting will be a first step in establishing close cooperation between the members of the Council and the detention institutions representatives.
The head of the Council of Europe Office in Moldova, Jose-Luis Herrero, said that the Council of Europe is ready to continue supporting the Office of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Moldova and the new composition of the Council for the Prevention of Torture to strengthen their capacity at implementing their functions in order to effectively prevent torture and ill-treatment in Moldova in accordance with European and international standards.
The event was organized by the Office of the Ombudsman with the support of Council of Europe Office in Moldova. Members of the new Council for the Prevention of Torture are the ombudsmen Michael Cotorobai and Maia Bănărescu, as well as civil society representatives or persons delegated by the civil society: Mihail Gorincioi, lawyer at "Law Centre of Lawyers"; Svetlana Doltu public health program manager at "AFI"; Radu Nicoara, a lawyer at IDOM; Oxana Gumennaia, psychologist, member of CPEDAE; Ceslav Panico, a lawyer at the Institute for Penal Reform.
Source: Ombudsman.md