Roma Rights in Moldova and Lack of Legal Culture

What rights are violated and what problems the Roma face in communities across Moldova, our CU DREPTuL podcast team discussed with the lawyers and human rights experts Gheorghina Drumea and Dumitru Russu. Gheorghina is the secretary of the Coalition for Inclusion and Non-Discrimination, and Dumitru is program coordinator at the Human Rights Institute. Within the Access to Justice in Moldova Project, Gheorghina and Dumitru visited a number of communities where the Roma live and offered free legal consultations, with the support of the National Roma Center.

The two experts noted the pressing need for such services in the territory, but because no one offers them, people seek justice only in the most critical situations. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the respect for human rights as well, with the Roma being among the most affected categories, according to a recent study by the Ombudsman’s Office.

More details of the interview in English can be found here.

As part of the National Campaign for Healthy Justice, the Access to Justice Project in Moldova supports Cu DREPTuL, a podcast on access to justice and human rights, which aims to be not only an informative but also an educational tool, useful to all interested in these topics in the Moldovan context. The podcast brings relevant speakers on a variety of issues including, legal support for the marginalized, children’s rights, domestic violence, human trafficking, state-supported legal aid, role of public defenders, etc.