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Home Newsroom News and press releases Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities pledges to continue supporting integration in Moldova
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Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities pledges to continue supporting integration in Moldova

23 February 2017
L-r: Sarah Stephan, HCNM project officer; Ilze Brands Kehris, elected member of the UN Human Rights Committee; Tina Gogheliani, Head of the Civic Integration Unit of the Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality; and Dmitri Burnashev, Director of the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People, Estonia, attend a conference organized by the office of the HCNM and Moldova’s Bureau of Inter-ethnic Relations on implementing Moldova’s Strategy for Consolidation of Inter-ethnic Relations 2017–2027, Chisinau, 16 February 2017. (OSCE/Roman Harcenco) Photo details

The implementation of Moldova’s Strategy for Consolidation of Inter-ethnic Relations 2017­­­–2027 was discussed at a conference organized by the office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) and the Bureau of Inter-ethnic Relations in Chisinau on 16 February 2017.

“The adoption of this comprehensive strategic document to support the integration process reflects the fact that Moldova’s ethnic and linguistic diversity has been recognized as an asset that can make the country stronger and more resilient,” said HCNM Director Henrik Villadsen.

The office of the HCNM helped the Bureau of Inter-ethnic Relations to develop the strategy, drawing on The Ljubljana Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies. The Government of Moldova approved the strategy in December 2016.

Villadsen said that the office of the HCNM is prepared to continue supporting the Bureau of Inter-ethnic Relations in the implementation process.

The conference participants stressed the importance of robust implementation of the strategy, including allocating sufficient funding, strengthening the Bureau’s capacities, and paying attention to issues of particular concern to national minorities, such as their representation in public administration and education in minority languages. 

One panel focused on sharing international experience related to implementing integration strategies. Three international experts – Dmitri Burnashev, Director of the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People, Estonia; Tina Gogheliani, Head of the Civic Integration Unit of the Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality; and Ilze Brands Kehris, former HCNM Director and currently an elected member of the UN Human Rights Committee – provided their experience.

The conference was attended by participants from state institutions; local governments; civil society, including national minority associations; academia; and the international community.