Moldovan deputy premier attends Forum of Youth of National, Ethnic, Linguistic, Religious Minorities

Chisinau, 21 February /MOLDPRES/ - Deputy Prime Minister Gheorghe Balan today participated in the Forum of Youth of National, Ethnic, Linguistic and Religious Minorities, organized by the United Nations Human Rights Office in Moldova and Group of Young Persons for Inter-ethnical Solidarity, the Bureau for Reintegration has reported.       

The event took place in the format of a platform of communication and interaction between representatives of minority groups from Moldova, officials, civil society representatives, development partners. The forum’s goal was to bring for discussion issues on the minorities’ rights, especially of young people and to identify the best solutions to protect and promote their rights.

Attending the forum, Deputy Prime Minister Gheorghe Balan gave a speech, in which he confirmed the government’s commitments to enforce new policies of promoting the participation of representatives of ethnic groups in the public life.   

“The subject of national minorities is put down in the government’s action programme. In this respect, the cabinet works on the preparation of a new national action plan in the human rights field, which will contain a distinct chapter on the dimension of the national and ethnic minorities. This plan will allow fully implement the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,” Gheorghe Balan said.   

Also, the deputy prime minister, in his speech, made an appeal to the civil society representatives to avoid approaches and manifestations which contribute to the society’s segregation, including on ethnic criteria, stressing that the languages and traditions of the national minorities are part of the common culture and must be treated with respect.  

Gheorghe Balan noted that the authorities relied, first of all, on young people released from prejudices, involved in processes which presently take place in Moldova and who actively participate in the public life, so that their entire potential helps turn to good account the state Republic of Moldova.    

In the context, the deputy prime minister reiterated the importance to create the best conditions for the studying and use of the country’s official language as a binder in edifying a strong, democratic and viable state.