Minorities and marginalized groups
27. The Committee notes with concern reports of violence and hatred towards minorities, especially Roma, and other vulnerable groups in the Republic of Moldova, including alleged recent manifestations of hate speech and intolerance against homosexuals (art. 16).
The Committee recalls in the light of its general comment No. 2 on the implementation of article 2 (CAT/C/GC/2, 2008) that the special protection of minorities or marginalized individuals or groups especially at risk is part of the State party’s obligation to prevent torture or ill-treatment. In this respect, the State party should:
- Incorporate in its Criminal Code an offence to punish hate crimes as acts of intolerance and incitation to hatred and violence based on sexual orientation. Moreover, the State party should continue to be vigilant in ensuring that relevant existing legal and administrative measures are strictly observed and that training curricula and administrative directives constantly communicate to staff the message that incitation to hatred and violence will not be tolerated and will be sanctioned accordingly;
- Provide detailed information and statistics on the number and type of hate crimes, as well as on the administrative and judicial measures taken to investigate and prosecute such crimes and the sentences imposed.
Link to full text of the report: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/co/CAT.C.MDA.CO.2.pdf