CERD/C/MDA/CO/7
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training for the police, prosecutors, judges and other law enforcement officers on the
application of criminal law provisions sanctioning incitement to racial hatred and
discrimination by individuals and organizations, and that it inform the public about
all legal remedies in the field of racial discrimination. It also requests the State party
to provide updated information in its next periodic report on the number of
complaints registered and investigated under articles 135, 176 and 346 of the
Criminal Code and under the Law on Combating Extremist Activity, as well as on the
types of sanctions imposed on perpetrators and on compensation provided to victims.
14. The Committee is concerned that applications by Muslim ethnic minorities, such as the
Tatars, to be registered as religious communities have been rejected by the State Service for
Religious Issues, apparently on purely formal grounds (art. 5 (d) (vii)).
The Committee recommends that the State party consider facilitating the registration
of Muslim ethnic minorities, such as the Tatars, as religious communities, including
the possibility of resubmitting required documents in cases where applications are
incomplete.
15. The Committee notes with concern that the State party has only offered to designate
specific areas in Christian cemeteries for Muslim burials, although Muslim ethnic minorities
have repeatedly asked to be assigned separate burial sites (art. 5 (d) (vii)).
The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that members of Muslim
ethnic minorities, such as the Tatars, can be buried in accordance with their beliefs
and preferences.
16. The Committee notes with concern that the Roma are not represented in Parliament and
that, apart from the police force, there are no quotas for the recruitment of Roma in the public
service, despite the right of national minorities to an approximately proportionate representation
in the executive, the judiciary and the army under the Members of Ethnic Minorities (Rights and
Legal Status of their Associations) Act of 2001 (arts. 5 (c) and 2 (2)).
The Committee recommends that the State party adopt special measures, such as
statutory electoral and public service targets and specific training programmes, to
ensure an approximately proportionate representation of the Roma and of other
underrepresented minorities in Parliament and in the public service, including at
senior levels and in the judiciary, in accordance with the Members of Ethnic
Minorities (Rights and Legal Status of their Associations) Act of 2001.
17. The Committee notes with concern the reported high unemployment rate among the Roma
population and the lack of employment opportunities for Roma (art. 5 (e) (i)).
The Committee recommends that the State party intensify further its efforts to train
unemployed Roma for the labour market, including through specifically targeted
vocational training, retraining and language training programmes, and by creating
favourable conditions for investment and private entrepreneurship among Roma
communities, including infrastructural measures and loans for microbusinesses.