OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities agrees co-operation with Chisinau on integration of society, urges Transdniestrian authorities to exercise restraint on Latin-script schools

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Astrid Thors carried out her first trip to Moldova, including Gagauzia and Transdniestria, from 11 to 14 November 2013.

In Chisinau, Thors met senior government officials, including Prime Minister Iurie Leanca; representatives of several political parties and national‑minority communities; and members of the diplomatic corps. She agreed to continue co-operating with the Moldovan authorities on the development of an integration policy, in line with The Ljubljana Guidelines on the Integration of Diverse Societies.

Thors also attended a training course by the Association of European Teachers of Moldova (ANTEM) in the village of Avdarma in Gagauzia. The course, which provides free teaching of the state language to civil servants with national minority backgrounds, is supported by the OSCE HCNM and the Finnish government. “Such language courses are invaluable to give national minorities the opportunity to fully participate in public life,” Thors said.

In Transdniestria, Thors familiarised herself with the challenges facing Moldovan-administered schools teaching in the Latin script, an issue of long-term concern to the OSCE. She urged representatives of the de facto authorities in Tiraspol to refrain from taking any measures that could negatively affect the situation of the schools. She said this could undermine the chances for effective negotiations on the functioning of the schools, as recommended by the OSCE Mission to Moldova and the HCNM in The Moldovan‑Administered Latin-Script Schools in Transdniestria: Background, Current Situation, Analysis and Recommendations of November 2012.