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Each year, for the eighth year running, representatives of the Republic of Moldova and delegates from the European Union meet for a Dialogue about the Human Rights situation in Moldova. Memoria being invited to participate as civil society observer, I had the great opportunity to enter the premises of the Minister of external affairs and European integration in order to attend this important meeting on June 20th.

The participants addressed sensitive issues such as the proposed reform of the electoral system, the freedom and pluralism of the media, the fight against impunity and ill-treatment Human Rights protection in the justice system, the rights of the child and finally the fight against discrimination and protection of vulnerable groups.

The discussions about impunity and ill-treatment were particularly interesting and relevant regarding to Memoria’s mission. Mr Nicolae Esanu, Deputy Minister of Justice, who was leading the Moldovan delegation, stated that torture is a shame for a country in the 21^st century and erected the prevention of this phenomenon as a fundamental objective of the Republic of Moldova.

The EU welcomed the signature by Moldova of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence and the creation of a National Preventive Mechanism against Torture. However, in other areas, improvements are still possible and wanted. For example, the EU delegates were particularly worried about the overcrowding situation at the penitentiary number 13, institution with which Memoria is working in the framework of the project “Better psycho-social services for persons from detention and respecting of their rights” funded by the German Embassy in Moldova and implemented from March to December 2017.

Both parties agreed on the importance of raising awareness about the phenomenon of torture through training for employees in various institutions. It is also to be pointed out that Mr Ion Caracuian, Head of Penitentiary, saluted the work of Memoria, the only organization that is dealing with rehabilitation of torture victims. I feel really honored to work as a volunteer in such a unique place and be a small part of their work to improve life of their beneficiaries.