November 14^th, 2018, Council for preventing and eliminating discrimination and ensuring equality (Equality Council) has launched “Equal Rights in Rural Communities” awareness campaign.

Sipoteni from Calarasi region is one of our targeted locations, where we decided to run our campaign. In the first part of the day, the Equality Council team established the Equality Stand in the hall of the City Hall, where they interacted with locals. Every interested person had a chance to ask questions about non-discrimination policies and to receive materials, such as Guide for petitioners available in Romanian and Russian; flyers for preventing discrimination in the employment process and workplace; booklets for raising awareness of tolerance, acknowledgement about diversity, and combating discriminatory deeds.

Teachers, educators, doctors, policemen, social workers, the city hall and the post office employees participated in the session for raising their knowledge about the Council’s activity and legal methods for combating discrimination.

To understand better how to address a complaint to the Equality Council and how it is analysed, participants watched the video “Protect your rights, don’t accept to be discriminated!”

According to the Council’s data, annually 160 complaints are addressed and only 30% is received from the rural area. The main problem is not connected to the fact that discrimination doesn’t exist in the rural area, the main issue is that people are poorly informed about protection mechanisms against discrimination.

The Head of the department of protection from discrimination Carolina Bagrin highlighted: “The number of complaints, which Council for preventing and eliminating discrimination and ensuring equality receives, increases every year. Its mission is to prevent discrimination and promote equal opportunities. Today’s session was interactive for 38 participants and allowed them to speak about discriminatory situations. Discrimination exists in the Republic of Moldova and only by joint efforts we can combat this phenomenon”.

One of the teachers said: “Speaking honestly, this session allowed me to understand some aspects of discrimination because sometimes, we don’t even realize that we can have a discriminatory behaviour towards some group of people. Besides, I am informed about the Council and I will know where to find support if I become discriminated”.

As a part of the campaign’s activity, Council left free envelopes at the postal office for local people to help address complaints that contain discrimination cases.

Equal Rights in Rural Communities awareness campaign is run from November 6^th to 30^th in the following regions Congaz (Gaguazia region), Tvardiţa (Taraclia region), Corlăteni (Raschani region), Sipoteni (Calarasi region), Slobozia Mare (Cahul region) and Vărzăreşti (Nisporeni region).

The primary goal is to inform society about its right to equality and about legal methods for protection against discrimination.

This campaign is launched by the Council for Preventing and Eliminating Discrimination and Ensuring Equality in partnership with the Institute Penal Reform with the support of the Program for the Financing of Human Rights Initiative / Change Projects. This program is carried out with the participation of the Institute for Penal Reform within the project “Strengthening the technical capacities of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights” financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and implemented by the United Nations Development Program.