Moldova withdraws Commonwealth of Independent States Agreement on combating human trafficking

Moldova is withdrawing from the Agreement on Cooperation among the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Organs and Human Tissues, concluded in Moscow on November 25, 2005. The decision was approved by the government today.

Interior Minister Daniella Misail-Nichitin said that, through this decision,  Moldova was withdrawing from an agreement that no longer reflects current realities and mechanisms.

According to the minister, the denunciation of the Agreement comes as the fight against human trafficking is currently based on more up-to-date international instruments, including the Council of Europe Convention and cooperation mechanisms with European partners and Interpol.

“Moldova is constantly adapting its international cooperation tools to today’s realities. In the context, we propose denouncing the CIS Agreement on cooperation in combating trafficking in human beings, organs and human tissues, signed in 2005. It is necessary to do so, because the fight against human trafficking is currently based on more up-to-date international instruments, including the Council of Europe Convention and cooperation mechanisms with European partners and Interpol. Therefore, we are withdrawing from an agreement that no longer reflects current realities and mechanisms and are focusing on the tools through which Moldova cooperates with its partners today. This decision is also related to the consistency of our European path and the modernization of the international cooperation framework,” Daniella Misail-Nichitin said at the cabinet meeting.

The denunciation of the agreement is part of a broader process of reviewing treaties concluded under the CIS framework, with the aim of aligning Moldova’s legislative and economic framework with European norms and standards.