Moldova

In Moldova, UNDP launched a project to enhance national rule of law capacities to respond both to the immediate needs of the Ukrainian refugees and to resolve systemic issues with access to justice services.

Integrated response

The project reinforces the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus and has a leaving no one behind principle at its core. This UNDP initiative was integrated with and supported the realization of the 2022 UN inter-agency Regional Refugee Response Plan for Moldova, coordinated by UNHCR and the Government.

Following the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation into Ukraine in February 2022, over 718,000 Ukrainians sought refuge in neighboring Moldova, while over 100,000 refugees (out of which nearly 60 percent are women and girls) remained in the country as of April 2023. Moldovan authorities and communities had to ensure that refugees had access to legal aid and justice services, a crucial type of support in any displacement and humanitarian context.

Leave No One Behind

Without such support, refugees risk losing their legal identity and cannot exercise their rights to healthcare, housing, education or employment. Women refugees face additional risks, including gender discrimination and gender-based violence.

The project implementation started with the rapid assessments conducted by UNDP and the Moldovan Institute for Penal Reform (IRP). The assessments proposed measures to improve the capacities of the national legal aid systems and identified the legal needs of refugees and asylum seekers. An underdeveloped network of paralegals across the country and their insufficient engagement with the formal legal system was one of the gaps revealed by the assessments. A set of recommendations to support the paralegals in Moldova include the formation of legal aid mobile teams, revised fees for the paralegal work and awareness raising among beneficiaries about the services available.

The learning aids were used during the in-person training in January 2023 for 42 paralegals (including 25 women). The updated online training programme and supporting materials were uploaded to the paralegal e-learning platform hosted by the e-Governance Agency. Twenty-seven people (including 20 women) participated in an online session to discuss the importance of communication skills and improve their knowledge on the updated training programme.

People-centred approach

Capitalizing on UNDP’s experience in supporting gender-based violence survivors in Gagauzia (Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, Republic of Moldova), the ‘mobile team model’ was replicated and expanded to prevent gender-based violence in Edinet and Causeni districts. Two mobile teams were operationalized and, as of December 2022, provided legal, psychological and social services for 226 women: 100 refugee women and 126 women from vulnerable groups, including 59 gender-based violence survivors. The operational model of the mobile teams, when they go to a client's place of residence, analyse a case and refer a woman to relevant service providers, reflects a people-centred approach to advancing gender justice and building resilience.

Furthermore, following a learning needs assessment of the staff members within the local public authorities from Edinet and Causeni districts, the training agenda was shaped, and four learning sessions were scheduled for May 2023.

Partnerships

Moldovan civil society organizations with proven experience, agility and innovative approaches have been key implementing partners for UNDP in this project. Primarily, the team worked with the Institute for Penal Reform, the National Paralegals Association from Moldova and the Law Center of Advocates. The National Legal Aid Council is the key national counterpart for UNDP Moldova in improving access to justice and legal services for refugees and asylum seekers.

lessons learned

Since multiple partners have been involved in project activities, the coordination processes took longer than expected. In addition, UNDP saw the lack of qualified offers for the legal needs assessment exercise which led to the readvertisement of calls and delays in the initiation of planned activities. A no-cost extension of the project for three months (by the end of October 2023) was approved. This time will also be used to develop a chatbot solution to expand access to legal aid and remedies.