London, 3 June 2011
The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) has written to the Prime Minister of Moldova to express its concern about reports that the Islamic League, the first legally recognised Muslim organisation in Moldova, may be deregistered.
ERT’s letter refers to the difficulties faced by members of some religious minorities in registering their organisations and the application of administrative sanctions to individual members of unregistered religious groups. ERT became aware of the discriminatory treatment of members of Moldovan religious minorities through its project “Strengthening Legal Protection from and Raising Awareness of Discriminatory Ill-Treatment in Republic of Moldova, including Transnistria”. These difficulties have also been highlighted as areas of concern by a number of international bodies including the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the UN Human Rights Committee.
The letter welcomes the registration of the Islamic League, in March 2011, as a significant positive step in protecting the equal rights of League members to religious freedom and to freedom from discrimination. Since their registration, Muslims have been able to practice their religion more freely and openly, having previously been forced to meet in private.
ERT expresses concern at reports that the Prime Minister has pledged to review the League’s registration. Its letter urges the Prime Minister to ensure that any review of the registration of the Islamic League fully respects Moldova’s obligations under international human rights law, in particular, the right of members of religious minorities to equality, contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Speaking about the intervention, ERT Executive Director Dimitrina Petrova said:
“There is substantial evidence that Moldovan law governing the registration of religious organisations has, in practice, been used to discriminate against religious minorities. The recent reports that the registration of the Islamic League – the first and only Islamic organisation to be registered in Moldova – will now be reviewed are a cause for grave concern."
“ERT urges the Prime Minister to ensure that this review of the League’s registration is not discriminatory and respects the rights of members of religious minorities to equality.”
To read ERT’s letter to the Moldovan Prime Minister, click here.
ERT is working in partnership with Promo-LEX, a Moldovan NGO, on a European Union-funded project entitled "Strengthening Legal Protection from and Raising Awareness of Discriminatory Ill-Treatment in Republic of Moldova, including Transnistria” which seeks to strengthen the legal protection from discriminatory ill-treatment and raise stakeholders' awareness of discriminatory ill-treatment.
