In Latvia Yesterday, 18:501 Kariņš: By not ratifying the Istanbul Convention, Latvia gives the impression to other countries that domestic violence is acceptable

The Prime Minister emphasized that in recent months there have been several tragic cases with a fatal outcome in Latvia, which prove that bullying is a challenge for society.

Kariņš explained that the LM’s proposal envisages approving the Istanbul Convention together with the declaration that it is valid to the extent that it does not contradict the Constitution.

The Prime Minister emphasized that several countries have adopted the Istanbul Convention, adding such a declaration. In addition, the Constitutional Court has decided that the Istanbul Convention does not contradict the Constitution.

Kariņš added that, by not approving the Istanbul Convention, Latvia gives the impression to other countries that family violence is permissible in Latvia and that it is not allowed.

It has already been reported that the Ministry of Justice has submitted the Council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, or the so-called Istanbul Convention, for approval in Latvia.

According to the draft law presented by the ministry, the convention is planned to be approved in Latvia with the reservation that in its implementation Latvia will apply “the values, principles and norms contained in the Constitution, especially with regard to the protection of human rights, the equality of women and men and the protection and support of the rights of marriage, family, parents and children”. .

It is also proposed to add a two-sentence declaration to the convention, which will emphasize that “Latvia believes that the purpose of the convention is the protection of women from any violence, as well as the prevention, punishment and eradication of violence against women and domestic violence”.

On the other hand, the second sentence of the declaration will repeat what is already stated in Article 2 of the law on the approval of the convention, that Latvia “will apply the convention within the framework of the values, principles and norms contained in the Constitution, especially with regard to the protection of human rights, the equality of women and men and the protection of the rights of marriage, family, parents and children and support”.

The contentious article 110 of the Satversme, which currently states that “the state protects and supports marriage – the union between a man and a woman, the family, the rights of parents and children”, speaks about the family area in the Satversme. Such a version of the basic law was once created when some politicians tried to prevent legal recognition of same-sex couples in the country.

LM explains that the declaration of the government headed by Kariņa envisages the implementation of the requirements of the Istanbul Convention. The Convention requires member states to develop a coherent policy on violence against women and domestic violence, as well as state institutions to implement inter-institutional cooperation with non-governmental organizations, civil society and the media.

Also, the convention calls for the involvement of all competent state institutions and services so that violence against women and domestic violence can be dealt with in a coordinated manner by developing regulations regulating cooperation, emphasizes LM. At the same time, it emphasizes the need to collect statistical data on cases of violence against women and domestic violence.

The Istanbul Convention was adopted by the Council of Europe in 2011, it entered into force in 2014, and the European Union signed it in June 2017. It is the first international document of its kind.

The objective of the Istanbul Convention is to prevent and eradicate violence against women, as well as to prevent and eradicate domestic violence. The convention establishes a comprehensive and multilateral legal framework with the aim of protecting women from all forms of violence, reducing and eradicating domestic violence.

Although the EU had signed the document, it has so far held back on full ratification, as some member states have refused to do so.

While most countries have already ratified the convention at national level and had no objection to ratification at the EU level, seven countries – Armenia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia – have still not ratified it. Azerbaijan is the only Council of Europe country that has neither signed nor ratified the convention.

Latvia signed the convention already on May 18, 2016, but it has not reached its ratification for seven years, because there was no majority support for such a step in the parliament. Those politicians who oppose the ratification of the Istanbul Convention most often justify their position by saying that the concept of “social gender” appears in the convention, which is ideologically unacceptable. This reasoning is also widely used in Russian ideological messages.

Even in the existing ruling coalition, which currently includes “New Unity” (JV), National Union (NA) and “Joint List” (AS), only JV advocates the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, while NA and AS have a negative attitude.

In May 2023, the Saeima rejected the “Progressive” faction’s proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers to immediately forward the Istanbul Convention to the parliament for ratification. AS politician, Speaker of the Saeima Edvards Smiltēns then expressed his belief that there is no public support for the ratification of the convention – he was convinced of this by visiting “almost every corner of Latvia” before the elections. In his view, Latvian laws already contain everything and “no convention and directive will protect”.

In June, the Council of the European Union (EU) approved the EU’s accession to the Convention on the Prevention of Violence against Women. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU’s accession to the convention sends a strong signal of the bloc’s commitment to preventing and punishing violence against women.

At the moment, JV-initiated negotiations with the parties have begun in Latvia regarding the promotion of political issues important to the party, among which is the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. JV invited its existing coalition partners AS and NA, as well as the opposition parties Green and Farmers’ Union (ZZS) and “Progresīvos” to the talks, but AS and NA do not come to these talks because they see in them efforts to rebuild the ruling coalition, which both parties do not support .

One of the parties’ talks was also devoted to the issue of the Istanbul Convention, and in it JV agreed with the opposition ZZS and the “Progressives” to support the ratification of the convention, but with special reservations, “like many other European countries have done”.

Welfare Minister Evikas Siliņa (JV) emphasized that all three parties are in a positive mood to move forward with the ratification of the Istanbul Convention by adding a declaration to it. Since the convention “doesn’t say anything about any ‘genders’ – only those people who want to see it see it – then we would simply explain that we do not in any way violate the principles contained in the Constitution”, said the JV politician.

It was clear from what the ZZS politicians said that they are ready to support the ratification of the Istanbul Convention only with the addition of such a declaration of reservations, while “Progressives” expressed that they still need to agree on the text of the added declaration. The “Progressives” declared that Latvia should ratify the Istanbul Convention “without deviations”, meaning that it is important that no article of the convention be removed.

The “United List” and the National Union did not participate in the negotiations and take a negative attitude towards the convention, but JV, ZZS and “Progressives” have 52 votes in the parliament, which would be enough to ratify the convention.