The Secretary of State of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Daniella Misail-Nichitin met with a delegation of the Council of Europe, led by Zaruhi Gasparyan, Head of the Cooperation and Capacity Building Unit at the Children's Rights Division of the Council of Europe. The meeting centered on opportunities for collaboration and support in implementing a set of measures based on the Lanzarote Committee's recommendations for protecting children from sexual exploitation and abuse for the period of 2025-2026.
The draft Set of Measures was developed by the specialized Committee of the National Human Rights Council, coordinated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This body oversees the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (Lanzarote Convention).
It includes, inter alia, the development of a system to register offenders convicted of sexual abuse and mechanisms for collecting genetic data, creating tools to gather data on child sexual abuse and exploitation and development of resocialization and intervention programs for both perpetrators and victims, and offering specialized trainings for law enforcement, journalists, and professionals working with children. Other key measures are the establishment of monitoring mechanisms for convicted offenders and the creation of programs aimed at preventing child sexual abuse. Thus, during the meeting, officials explored opportunities for study visits, experience exchanges and expertise sharing to develop the concept of a sex offenders registry.
The Secretary of State emphasized the coordinated efforts of the Ministry of Home Affairs to protect children, ensuring an inter-institutional and efficient approach to implementing the Lanzarote Convention.
Additionally, discussions covered activities that the Council of Europe will support in relation to the Republic of Moldova's presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from November 2025 to May 2026. These include hosting a conference on inter-institutional cooperation to promote Barnahus-type services and organizing the next plenary session of the Lanzarote Committee in Chisinau.