Turkey withdraws from the Istanbul Convention / Article / LSM.lv

Turkey has withdrawn from the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and the Domestic Violence, the so-called Istanbul Convention, by President Decree Tajip Erdogan. The publication of the decree in the state’s official newspaper on the morning of Saturday, March 20, caused outrage and anger among members of human rights groups, and people were called to protest in Istanbul.

According to activists, at least 300 women were killed in Turkey in 2020 alone. Turkish conservative politicians have pointed out that the convention, which has never been applied in the country, is detrimental to family unity, encourages divorce, and that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community used various references in the convention to increase community acceptance.

Discussions about Turkey’s possible withdrawal from the convention began after it was initiated last year by an Erdogan party official. Since then, women have repeatedly taken to the streets of cities across the country, urging the government not to abandon the convention.

The Istanbul Convention aims to prevent and eradicate violence against women and to prevent and eradicate domestic violence. The Convention establishes a comprehensive and comprehensive legal framework to protect women from all forms of violence and to reduce and eliminate domestic violence. The Convention has not yet been ratified by seven Member States: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia and the United Kingdom.

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