Latvia has agreed to withdraw from the call Istanbul Convention, considered a pillar for the fight against violence against womenafter passing a motion of the far right backed by the opposition and a center-left government party. It is the first time that this decision has been adopted by a member of the European Union (EU). So far only Türkiye had abandoned the treaty, in 2021.
One of the arguments put forward in the motion of the Latvia First party (LPV), part of the group of Patriots for Europe of the European Parliament, is that the convention is based on “gender ideology”.
His proposal was supported by 56 deputies of the Saeima, the Latvian Parliament, compared to 32 against. Among the parties that supported her there are nationalist, pro-Russian and centrist opposition groups, as well as the Alliance of Greens and Peasants, a partner in the prime minister’s tripartite party, Evika Silina.
The Latvian decision has sparked criticism at the parliamentary level from Nordic countries – Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland – as well as from the Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). According to its president, Theodoros Rousopoulos, the withdrawal of a country from the EU, if consummated, will be “an unprecedented setback”, “highly worrying” and based on arguments “fueled by misinformation.” The treaty was sponsored by the Council of Europe in 2011 as a continental instrument against gender violence and has since been ratified by 39 countries.
Some arguments of the motion’s promoters do not differ from those given by Türkiye when it withdrew. They consider that “encourages” homosexuality or transsexuality to the young people. They also defend that they are regulations promoted “from abroad”, which violates national sovereignty. They finally assure that Latvia has its own legislation against gender violence, so the convention is redundant.
The Baltic country had ratified the Istanbul Convention in 2023. The formalization of its departure is pending the signature of the country’s president, Edgards Rinkevics, who through X indicated that he will “analyze” the text without taking into account “ideological or political” issues, but rather “legal ones.” If it endorses it, Latvia must notify its withdrawal to the Council of Europe and after three months it will be considered that the country has disassociated itself from the obligation to adhere to these measures.
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