INFORMATION OFFICE OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE IN MOLDOVA
(completed its activities on 31 December 2010)
As in present the Council of Europe has grown to embrace over 800 million Europeans, and the focus of its work has shifted from setting standards to their implementation, the Organisation has come to realize the importance of being present on the ground in its member states in order to promote its values and aims. Many different types of activities have been developed over the years, from Information Offices, through short and longer term missions, co-operation programmes in collaboration with local partners and secondment of Council of Europe experts, to Field Offices who help in implementation of post-accession programmes and activities. The network of these operation as a whole brings the Council of Europe closer to the ground, ensuring a more direct and eff ective co-operation with both the authorities and societies at large.
The Information Offices of the Council of Europe (IOCE) are set up by decision of the Committee of Ministers at the request of governments. Their task is to disseminate information on the Council of Europe, its activities and standards, and to support and promote Organisation’s initiatives in the respective countries. They are managed and run by local staff , headed by a Director.
Moldova became a full-fl edged member of the Council of Europe on 13 July 1995. The same day Moldova signed the Statute of the Council of Europe. The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova ratified the European Convention on Human Rights on 24 July 1997. One of the priority goals of Moldova’s external policy is to reach a closer European integration. The Council of Europe cooperates actively with our country, especially in the domain of providing the legislative and informational assistance. The Information Office of the Council of Europe was set up in Chisinau on 30 June 1997, at the request of the government of the Republic of Moldova in the presence of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
The function of the IOCE is to answer the information and documentation requests regarding the activity and experience of the Council of Europe, to provide public authorities, associations, NGOs and citizens with information and materials both at the request and at IOCE’s own initiative. Similar Offices are opened in the Eastern Europe countries and are financed by the Council of Europe.
The functions and activities of the Information Offi ce include:
• helping individuals, NGOs and political institutions to contact the Council of Europe and to access information on its activities;
• contributing directly to the implementation of the information strategy of the Council of Europe, especially the professionals interested in the work and activities carried out by the Council of Europe and mass-medias;
• translating, publishing and disseminating Council of Europe texts and other pertinent documents of particular interest, preparing new publications, and developing and maintaining a Web site;
• providing logistical and informational assistance to the Council of Europe co-operation activities and visiting missions;
• on behalf of the Secretariat of the Council of Europe organizing and participating in national events of European interest;
• Contributing to and supporting the implementation of cooperation programmes and other Council of Europe projects in the Republic of Moldova;
• Contributing to cooperation of the Council of Europe with otherinternational institutions accredited to the Republic of Moldova andactivating in domains of common interest.
Another direction of the IOCE’s activity is the promotion of the Council ofEurope ideas, organization of conferences, round tables, seminars in main domains of activity of the Council of Europe and organization of exhibitions refl ecting the relations between the host country and the Council of Europe.
The library of the Information Offi ce comprises almost 14000 of most important publications of the Council of Europe regarding the structure of the organization, the activity of the Committee of Ministers, Parliamentary Assembly, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. The collection also includes complete case law of the European Court of Human Rights and a collection of conventions adopted by the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe documents are available in English and French versions (a part of them being translated into Moldovan) and include the following topics:
