Latvia Faces Public Outcryโ Over Withdrawal from Violence Against โWomen โTreaty
Riga, Latvia โ- A large-scale protest, estimatedโ by Latvian police to โhave drawn at least 10,000โค participants, โฃtook place in Rigaโ onโฃ November 27th, organized by the NGO Marta Centre, in response to the Latvian parliament’s recent vote โto withdraw from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention. the โconvention, designed to prevent and combat violence against womenโค and domestic abuse, has become a focal point of political division within the country.
On October 31st,โ the Saeima (Latvian parliament) voted 56โ to 32, with two โabstentions, to withdraw from the treaty.Lawmakers supporting theโ withdrawalโ cited concerns that the convention promotes “radical feminism based โon theโข ideology of gender.”โ This decision sparked immediateโค criticism fromโฃ President Edgars Rinkฤviฤs,โ who afterward sent the law back toโ parliament forโ further review โขon โฃNovember 27th.
Rinkฤviฤs argued thatโฃ withdrawing from the convention sends a “contradictory message” regarding Latvia’s commitment to international human rights obligations. He also pointed out thatโค Latvia would be the firstโฃ European Union member state to withdraw fromโ a humanโ rights treaty,โฃ questioning its compatibility with the principle of loyal cooperation within the EU. โขHeโ suggested the issueโ be deferred until โฃafter the upcoming general election, scheduled โfor noโค later thanโฃ October 3rd, 2024. While the President canโ request โreconsideration, he lacksโค the authority to unilaterally reverse the Saeima’sโ decision.
Prime Minister Evika Siliลa, whose Unity party-led coalition government initially pledged to ratify the convention, has also voiced opposition โto the withdrawal, stating onโข social media platform โX in โขOctober that it was “cruel” toโค use the experiences of victims of violence for political gain.
The move to withdraw has โbeenโ criticized by civil society organizations โas a setback โคfor fundamental rights. Despite the potential withdrawal,the European Commission affirmed that Latvia remains obligatedโ to โฃupholdโ international rules โคprotecting women.
The Istanbulโ Convention, signedโ by all EU memberโค states and several non-EU โnations including the UK โขand Norway, aims โto prevent and combat violenceโข against women. The EU as โคa whole acceded to โคthe convention in 2023, making it legally binding โfor member states in areas of EU competence, including โขEU institutions,โฃ judicial cooperation in criminal matters, and asylum rights.
Though,several Europeanโข countries have yetโค to ratify the โconvention,including Bulgaria,Hungary,Slovakia,the Czech Republic,and Lithuania. Ultra-conservative groups and political parties across Europe have voiced similarโค criticisms to those in โคLatvia,alleging the treaty promotes “gender ideology” and negatively โคimpacts children.
In โคLatvia, the withdrawal processโ was initiatedโ by opposition MPs in September, โand gained support from the union of Greens and Farmers,โข a member โคof the ruling coalition.