Tuesday 10 December the NPM received a visit from a delegation consisting of members of the People’s Advocate Office and Council for the Prevention of Torture of the Republic of Moldova. The People’s Advocate Office of Moldova has a tripartite mandate, which includes that of the general People’s Advocate, the People’s Advocate for Children’s Rights and, as of 2016, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) for the prevention of torture inhuman and degrading treatment. The office Moldova’s National Human Rights Institution and enjoys A-status.
The representatives visited the Norwegian NPM as part of a study tour to Norway organized by the Council of Europe under a Norwegian-funded programme aiming to promote a human rights compliant criminal justice system in the Republic of Moldova. The delegation, which included the Ombudsperson for Children’s rights, participated in a seminar at the NPMs where the methodology and experience of the Norwegian NPM was presented and discussed. The delegation was particularly interested in learning from the Norwegian experience of appointing an advisory committee comprised of members from organisations with expertise in areas that are important to the mandate. During the discussion, the Moldovan delegation also presented experiences that were useful to the Norwegian NPM.