On February 25, the head of the Representative Office of the Ombudsperson’s Institution in the ATU Gagauzia conduced a workshop on the topic “Know Your Rights”. The workshop took place in the municipality of Comrat and was designed for the representatives of the Roma community from the raion. The event was part of a broader activity aimed at informing the population about their rights, as well as within the campaign forinformation about the Ombudsperson in the Republic of Moldova.

The purpose of the workshop was to inform the Roma citizens about the amendment of the legal status of the Ombudsperson and the Ombudsperson’s Office. The participants received detailed information about the Ombudsperson, the way of filing petitions to the Ombudsperson’s Office, as well as the mechanism for protection of their rights.
A topic, which arouse a particular interest was the prevention of discrimination in labour relations. The Roma citizens complained about the fact that they had been refused employment from discriminatory reasons. The participants were informed about the methods and procedures for protecting their labour rights by filing petitions and going to court. One of the participants, Aliona R., confessed that following the advising by the Representative Office of the Centre for Human Rights, she obtained justice and remedy for the damages. She was reinstated in her position and was paid a compensation.

All the participants in the event received booklets with information about the ways to protect their rights, as well as about the Ombudsperson’s Office.