The Foreign Ministry hosted a meeting between Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PMR Vitaly Ignatiev and the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Rita Izsák-Ndiaye.
Welcoming the guest, Vitaly Ignatiev noted that Pridnestrovie is traditionally open to the cooperation with international organizations, including the United Nations. “We pay special attention to the visits of the UN Special Rapporteurs. I think that your visit will be effective and full-fledged in terms of getting information about the situation in the republic” – said the diplomat.
During the conversation, the Foreign Minister stressed that Pridnestrovie traditionally sought to implement international standards timely, including in the sphere of human rights.
“There is a special formula developed in the republic for the legal implementation of standards and conventions on human rights, which given a partial limitation of our international sovereignty enables us to use as legal standards the provisions reflected in documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the international covenants on human rights. These and many other international documents are the basis of the legislative environment of Pridnestrovie” – said Vitaly Ignatiev.
The Head of the PMR’s MFA reminded that earlier UN Senior Expert on Human Rights in Pridnestrovie Thomas Hammarberg conducted a comprehensive analysis of the situation in the republic in the field of human rights. “He gave a quite high assessment to the Constitution of our state, which enshrines equal rights and freedoms of people, regardless of sex, ethnic nationality, language and other aspects” – noted Vitaly Ignatiev.
Answering the question of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation regarding the rights of ethnic groups living in Pridnestrovie Vitaly Ignatiev emphasized the peculiarities of the republic’s formation, which have laid a solid foundation for the peaceful coexistence of representatives of different ethnic nationalities – Russians, Ukrainians, Moldavians, Bulgarians, Jews, Poles, Armenians.
“Our citizens regardless of ethnicity feel comfortable and can fully exercise their rights at all levels” – said Vitaly Ignatiev.
At the end of the meeting, Rita Izsák-Ndiaye expressed gratitude to the representatives of Pridnestrovie for their readiness to open dialogue. The parties agreed to continue cooperation on a constructive basis.
