CAT/C/MDA/CO/3 United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Distr.: General 21 December 2017 Original: English Committee against Torture Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Republic of Moldova* 1. The Committee against Torture considered the third periodic report of the Republic of Moldova (CAT/C/MDA/3) at its 1572nd and 1575th meetings, held on 7 and 8 November 2017 (CAT/C/SR.1572 and 1575), and adopted the following concluding observations at its 1600th and 1602nd meetings, held on 27 and 28 November 2017. A. Introduction 2. The Committee welcomes the dialogue held with the State party’s delegation and the oral replies and written information provided in response to the concerns raised by the Committee, but it notes with regret the late submission of the report. B. Positive aspects 3. The Committee welcomes the State party’s recognition of the competence of the Committee to receive and to consider communications under articles 21 and 22 of the Convention, on 2 September 2011, as well as its accession to or ratification of the following international instruments: (a) The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, on 21 September (b) The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, on 12 October 2010; 2010; (c) The Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, both on 19 April 2012. 4. The Committee also welcomes the State party’s initiatives to revise its legislation in areas of relevance to the Convention, including: (a) The adoption of amendments to the Criminal Code: increasing penalties for acts of torture, introducing criminal punishment for acts that constitute inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 166 (1) of the Criminal Code), eliminating the statute of limitations for torture or ill-treatment (art. 60 (8)) and declaring that no punishment milder than that stipulated by law can be applied for acts of torture (arts. 60, 79 and 107), in November 2012; making domestic violence a criminal offence (art. 201 (1)); and supplementing the Criminal Code with article 1331 criminalizing marital rape, on 9 July 2010; (b) The amendment of the Enforcement Code by adding article 175,1 which states that detention not exceeding 72 hours, as a coercive procedural measure, is to be ensured in temporary detention facilities, on 1 March 2012; (c) The adoption of Law No. 52 on the People’s Advocate (Ombudsman), on 3 April 2014; and the establishment of a council on the prevention of torture to serve as the * Adopted by the Committee at its sixty-second session (6 November–6 December 2017). GE.17-23073(E) 

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