On Tuesday, February 7, 2023, was launched the Council of Europe project „Strengthening human rights of refugees and migrants in Republic of Moldova”, followed by the first meeting of the Project Steering Committee. The National Institute of Justice, as a partner and direct beneficiary of the new project, was represented by Ecaterina Popa, ad interim Director, and Cezara Elena-Polisca, advisor to the Director, head of the training of trainers and didactic-methodological Section.
In her intervention, the NIJ Director spoke about legal training in the field of asylum, migration and related topics, as well as about the Institute’s priorities in this segment in the context of the situation of refugees from Ukraine. Thus, the importance of mixed training of actors from the legal system was emphasized for strengthening professional capacities and the use of the non-formal methods, for example the Living Library, which helps to develop empathy and familiarize, from the first source, with the problems faced by a refugee. Ecaterina Popa also outlines the start of the fourth edition of the Republican fine arts contest „My home is your home too: together in safety”, which also aims to raise awareness of the needs of refugees and migrants, as well as, the piloting of the HELP course „Asylum and human rights”.
The Council of Europe project „Strengthening human rights of refugees and migrants in Republic of Moldova”, aims to provide, in the context of the situation of refugees from Ukraine, support to national authorities and other actors to respond to the needs of refugees and migrants and to build long-term resistant migration, asylum and reception system. The project partners are the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the Ministry of Education and Research, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of the Ombudsman.