The U.S. Government and UNDP will support the Ministry of Justice to strengthen its institutional and operational capacities to achieve its mandate and promote justice sector reform in line with best practices and European standards.

The support will be provided under a new project, entitled " Strengthening the capacities of the Ministry of Justice of Moldova to deliver on the justice reform mandate", with a budget of US$820,000 from the U.S. Government, through Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Section. The project will run until February 2025 and will be implemented by UNDP Moldova.

"Justice sector reform is one of the most important commitments undertaken by the Republic of Moldova with the achievement of EU candidate country status. The Ministry of Justice does not have sufficient capacity to successfully implement this reform on its own and to keep up to date on all the actions and measures that are being implemented or are to follow. It requires strengthened efforts, including the support and expertise of development partners," said Minister of Justice Veronica Mihailov-Moraru at the signing ceremony on 13 September 2023.

"We are grateful to the U.S. Government, which, through UNDP Moldova, is providing us with support to facilitate access to justice for people from vulnerable groups, to digitalize certain justice processes, to create the necessary infrastructure for people with disabilities. We greatly appreciate the support to be given to us, because we have a lot to do in a rather short period of time," the minister added.

The project will support the Ministry to set up an internal system for coordination, communication and monitoring of the implementation process of the justice sector reform strategy. This will contribute to greater credibility and support for reform.

Also, in the project context, the Ministry of Justice will strengthen its cybersecurity to protect data and information when communicating internally and externally. An audit will be carried out, under which the Ministry will be equipped with tools and equipment and staff will be trained.

"We as UNDP and the U.S Government are committed to support the Ministry of Justice in becoming more resilient and inclusive and delivering on the justice reform mandate. This new project we are launching today will contribute to core elements of the reform: strengthened institutional cyber health, increased accessibility and a better coordination. All these will contribute to more transparency, integrity and efficiency of this important public institution. Strong institutions are at the core of SDG 16, which is a cornerstone of the sustainable development agenda," said Daniela Gasparikova, UNDP Resident Representative to the Republic of Moldova.

Another aspect that will be tackled in the project is to increase the accessibility of the Ministry of Justice’s building. Using a "user-safari" approach, with the involvement of people with disabilities, accessibility experts and ministry officials in the decision-making process for the redesign of the space, technical solutions will be co-created and implemented to facilitate access to the ministry building.