On 5-7 February 2013 the 2nd Workshop on Regional and International Child Protection Standards took place within the “Addressing the negative effects of migration on minors and families left behind” project. The workshop was attended by around 18 representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family of the Republic of Moldova, and aimed at familiarizing them with the main international legal frameworks regulating child rights protection. All the participants had the possibility to discuss the notion of child vulnerability from the rights-based perspective, scrutinize the main European and International Conventions regulating child protection, and discuss best practices and concrete examples of legislation and policy in different countries, such as Georgia, Switzerland, Sweden, etc. The workshop was led by Ms. Daja Wenke – an independent consultant and researcher on child rights/ child protection.
Afterward, the project results, achievements and plan of action for the next 9 months of the project were discussed on the 8th February during the 3rd meeting of the Inter Institutional Technical Committee, organized in Moldova. The meeting was attended by the main implementing partners such as the Ministry of Labour, Social Policies of Italy, the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family of the Republic of Moldova, the Bureau for Relations with Diaspora, Diaspora project partners and IOM Moldova. All the project partners highlighted the high profile of the initiative and the importance of further extending the project activities in order to increase the impact on both Moldovan migrant workers in Italy and their children and families left behind in Moldova. The project has been granted a non-cost extension until September 2013, kindly provided by the EU and the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policies.
PROIECT DE LEGE
 
Inițiativa legislativă propune amendarea Codului Penal în sensul stabilirii răspunderii penale pentru săvârşirea de către persoana, care are obligaţia legală de întreţinere faţă de minor, a acțiunii de părăsire, alungare sau lăsare fără ajutor, expunându-l la suferinţe fizice sau morale; neîndeplinirea intenționată a obligaţiei de întreţinere prevăzute de lege; neplata intenționată, timp de 5 luni, a pensiei de întreţinere stabilite pe cale judecătorească”, se arată în Nota informativă la proiectul de Lege pentru completarea Codului Penal al Republicii Moldova.
 
„Abandonul este cea mai gravă formă de neglijare a copilului şi acest fenomen care devine obişnuit în Moldova se datorează şi cadrului legal prea blând pentru cei care îşi părăsesc familia și copiii”, afirmă Vicepreşedinta Parlamentului, Liliana Palihovici. „Iar această iniţiativă vine să contribuie la ocrotirea relaţiilor de convieţuire între părinți și copii”.