A/HRC/34/53/Add.2 84. With regard to Roma, the Special Rapporteur was informed that on many occasions they were portrayed as “beggars” and “criminals” in the media, fuelling further anti-Roma sentiments. Some Roma interviewees believed that there should be more success stories of Roma to reflect reality. In the view of some interlocutors, the Audiovisual Coordinating Council, which is tasked, inter alia, with sanctioning powers in case of violations of the broadcasting legislation, should take concrete measures to address and prevent discrimination against minority groups. IX. Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova 85. The Special Rapporteur travelled to the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova, where she had the chance to meet with the de facto authorities and with a number of representatives from civil society organizations. She held consultations in Tiraspol, Rashkov and Kamenka. 86. The de facto authorities stated their adherence to the international human rights legal framework and acknowledged the relevant recommendations presented in 2013 by United Nations Senior Expert Thomas Hammarberg. 33 87. The Special Rapporteur was informed that the Transnistrian region is home to three main ethnic groups — Moldovans, Russians and Ukrainians — together with other smaller ones, including Armenians, Bulgarians, Gagauzians, Poles and Roma. The three official languages are Moldovan, Russian and Ukrainian. She was made aware that the majority of the population belong to the Orthodox Church, although other religious groups coexist, including Adventists, Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, Lutherans and Protestants. 88. At present, the Transnistrian region also faces serious economic challenges, and a shortage of financial resources was pointed out by both the de facto authorities and civil society organizations as a major concern. Migratory flows from other regions, particularly Gagauzia, and the emigration of young people to neighbouring countries were also noted. 89. A population census was conducted in the region in 2015 but the results were yet to be made public. Civil society representatives stated that the census included a question on ethnic background but did not contain a specific question on religious affiliation. 90. It was highlighted that, despite the fact that Moldovan, Russian and Ukrainian were official languages, Russian was the dominant one in the public sphere. Some interlocutors pointed out that, although official documents included headings in the three official languages, the information contained therein was conveyed primarily in Russian. 91. With respect to education, the Special Rapporteur was informed that Russian was spoken at the vast majority of schools, although Bulgarian and Ukrainian were spoken at some educational institutions and Moldovan Cyrillic script was used at a number of schools. The de facto authorities acknowledged that a number of issues remained with respect to the schools where Moldovan Latin script was used; however, since they did not have access to those schools, they could not verify that the education standards there met those of the Transnistrian region. 34 The authorities noted the existence of scientific and 33 34 18 See “Report on Human Rights in the Transnistrian Region of the Republic of Moldova”, available from http://md.one.un.org/content/dam/unct/moldova/docs/pub/Senior_Expert_Hammarberg_ Report_TN_Human_Rights.pdf. See, inter alia, Catan and others v. Moldova and Russia, European Court of Human Rights, Judgment dated 19 October 2012, available from http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-114082; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, The Moldovan-Administered Latin-Script Schools in Transdniestria (Chisinau, 2012), available from www.osce.org/moldova/99058?download=true; and