About Us

CDA’s mission is to promote respect for fundamental human rights and to provide legal support to refugees, stateless persons, foreign nationals, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants based on effective, fair and just justice.

CDA has been a partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) since 1998 and is the only legal NGO in the Republic of Moldova with comprehensive and exclusive expertise in the field of asylum and statelessness. 

CDA provides the following core activities and services: legal counselling, representation of beneficiaries in court and before the authorities, outreach activities, trainings for representatives of state authorities, lawyers, judges, police officers, social workers, paralegals and other professionals, whose work relates to interaction with foreigners, stateless persons, refugees and undocumented persons. CDA monitors the policies, legislation and activities of state institutions in its areas of interest.

Since the first day of the war in Ukraine, CDA team members have been fully trained in monitoring the rights of refugees from Ukraine at border crossing points in accommodation centres. In its activities in response to the influx of refugees from Ukraine,  CDA has developed a network of over 100 legal counselors, who provide legal assistance and useful information to refugees in accommodation centres and at border crossings, on hot lines, through online communication platforms, social media and through the distribution of printed information materials.

During the refugee crisis, in addition to providing legal assistance, CDA representatives are also involved in various other activities, such as identifying the vulnerabilities of refugees, facilitating access to financial and material aid, child protection, organizing information sessions, training for state employees involved in work with refugees form Ukraine.  

Training and promotion of human rights in the field of migration, asylum, statelessness and integration of foreigners is a separate activity of CDA. To this end, a Training Hub (CDATH) has been set up within the Law Centre of Advocates, with the allocation of human and financial resources necessary for the organisation and conduct of training and information in the field of migration, asylum, statelessness and integration of foreigners. 

CDATH was designed to assist professionals from different fields in the national implementation of human rights standards, in particular in the area of migration, asylum, statelessness and integration of foreigners.