On 29 May 2019, the Moldovan Government published instructions for the implementation of legal provisions that came into force in January 2018 recognising Transnistrian civil status acts (Law 310/2017). The Index highlights that in order to register a birth in Moldova, parents must be documented, which can lead to a risk of statelessness for some children whose parents may be unable to meet this requirement.
The law reforms in 2017 addressed this issue for one group at particular risk of statelessness in Moldova, children born in the localities on the left bank of Nistru and Bender municipality (Transnistria). Unfortunately, only parents with Moldovan IDs or passports of another state can apply for certification of the birth of their children. Parents holding documents issued in Transnistria, cannot apply for certification of the birth of their children. In case the parents and the child are documented with Transnistrian documents, the first step is documenting the parents with Moldovan documents, which is facilitated by the new instructions, and only after that, can the child's documentation be arranged.
Until 29 May this year, there had been no clear mechanism in place for implementing the legal provisions adopted in January 2018. Now that the Instructions have been published, Moldovan authorities will have a clear procedure to follow to be able to register the births and issue birth certificates for children born in the localities on the left bank of Nistru and Bender municipality (Transnistria), reducing the risk of statelessness for this group of children.
