Promo-LEX Association is launching today its annual report on the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova. The document finds a significant deterioration of fundamental rights and freedoms throughout 2025, amid the consolidation of repressive practices, persistent impunity, and the deepening energy and economic crisis.
According to the report, the energy crisis triggered on 1 January 2025, following the suspension of Russian gas supplies to the region, led to massive disconnections and job losses for thousands of people, rapidly turning into an economic crisis with direct impact on living standards. In this context, the Tiraspol regime introduced austerity measures that shifted the burden of the crisis onto the population, while maintaining priority funding for security forces, law enforcement bodies, and propaganda structures.
The report highlights the intensification of identity-based propaganda and indoctrination processes, particularly targeting children and youth. The year 2025 was declared the “Year of the Transnistrian People”, during which hundreds of “patriotic” activities aimed to consolidate an artificial identity distinct from that of the Republic of Moldova. The militarization of education is also noted, including minors’ participation in military camps and institutions with a military profile.
The document further records the expansion of control over the digital and information space through the adoption of “amendments” allowing the blocking of online resources for content deemed offensive or “disrespectful”, including materials related to the LGBT community and reproductive rights. Additionally, the video and biometric surveillance system was expanded, and the level of terrorist alert was maintained throughout the year.
In the field of education, the eight Romanian-language schools (Latin script) exceeded, for the first time in the past 15 years, the threshold of 2,000 students. Nevertheless, they continue to face chronic infrastructure problems, discriminatory utility tariffs, and smear campaigns. Farmers from the Dubăsari district remain subject to abusive restrictions regarding access to their agricultural land.
The report also draws attention to systemic abuses within the illegal justice and detention system, characterized by lack of procedural guarantees, degrading detention conditions, and absence of independent monitoring. Individuals released from illegal detention face serious challenges in accessing assistance and reintegration support.
In conclusion, Promo-LEX finds the consolidation of a “governance” model based on control, repression, and impunity, in which the energy crisis acted as a catalyst for strengthening authoritarian mechanisms. The organization puts forward a series of recommendations addressed to constitutional authorities and international partners, including the establishment of a dedicated support mechanism for victims released from illegal detention, prioritizing human rights in the dialogue with Tiraspol, supporting Romanian-language schools, and systematically monitoring the region’s information space.
The full report is available here.
The report was prepared by the Promo-LEX Association with the financial support of the National Endowment for Democracy and the Soros Foundation Moldova. The opinions expressed in the report belong exclusively to the authors; they cannot be interpreted in any way as reflecting the opinion and position of the National Endowment for Democracy and Soros Foundation Moldova.
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Dumitrița Ciuvaga,
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GSM: +373 68800827.