Human Rights Advocacy in Moldova - Challenges, Opportunities and Creative Lobbying

A talk by Nadia Lefter, LLM in International Human Rights Law, University of Essex, UK, and Research Assistant at the Centre for Human Rights & Legal Pluralism. Kindly RSVP to chrlp [dot] law [at] mcgill [dot] ca.

Abstract: Moldova has signed and ratified numerous regional and international human rights instruments, which have a direct applicability at the domestic level. This has led to the adoption of some of the most progressive (in theory) national laws and human rights protection tools.

Moldova’s financial dependence on external funders has some beneficial impact on the decision making process of the Moldovan authorities and, as such, an impact on human rights, but having weak public institutions deeply affected by corruption and lacking in independence, leaves few legal protection options for civil society.

For Moldova, formerly of the USSR and the poorest country in Eastern Europe, the promotion of human rights constitutes many challenges and multiple opportunities simultaneously, giving civil society activists a chance to apply the most creative and innovative lobbying and advocacy techniques - an experience that can be applied in many countries.

About the speaker: Nadia Lefter, specialized in social and economic rights, has worked in various international organizations in Moldova, like: United Nations Development Programme, International Organization for Migration, Amnesty International Moldova and others.