BRUSSELS – On January 14, the Belgian Chamber of Representatives adopted a Resolution entitled: “On the withdrawal of certain states from the Istanbul Convention”, put forward by Hon. Goedele Liekens, MP (Belgium) and Member of the EPF Executive Committee. The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (2011), also known as the Istanbul Convention, was opened for signatures on 11 May 2011 and is the first European-wide treaty calling for prevention of violence, victim protection and ending the impunity of perpetrators. The Belgian resolution calls on all European countries to ratify the Convention if not already done so and calls on the Turkish and Polish authorities not to go ahead with their plans to withdraw from the treaty.
Hon. Liekens says,
"If we want to take partner violence and domestic violence seriously in Europe, this is absolutely necessary. Signing a piece of paper is easy, now is the time for action!"
“The Istanbul Convention provides a comprehensive legal framework to combat violence against women and domestic violence. It is the first - and to this day the most important - legally binding instrument.
It is a disgrace that countries are now withdrawing from this agreement. It is crucial that all European countries jointly condemn and tackle this. The fact that there are countries that want to withdraw from this is a threat for women. Europe needs to confront this together", Liekens says.
The purpose of this resolution is threefold:
- To request that Turkey and Poland do not withdraw from the convention.
- To urge the European Union to proceed with ratification (as requested by the European Parliament).
- To request EU Member States that have signed, but not yet ratified, to ratify.