Brussels, 29/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 28 July, Anne Brasseur, the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) stated: “On 1 August 2014, a new stage in the protection of human rights will begin in Europe: the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence will enter into force in 11 Council of Europe member states”. In France and Sweden, this convention will be in force from 1 November 2014.
To date, 13 Council of Europe member states have ratified the Istanbul Convention (Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Italy, Montenegro, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey). In addition, 23 have indicated their political will by signing it, leaving 11 member states with no action on this at all (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation).
Brasseur stressed: “The Istanbul Convention enshrines the most advanced and comprehensive set of standards at international level to tackle violence against women and domestic violence. Although it focuses primarily on women, it would be simplistic to consider it a convention on women's rights. It will benefit society as a whole: the women and girls who are subjected to violence because of their gender; the women, men and children who are victims or witnesses of domestic violence; the perpetrators who want to be rehabilitated; men, who are not only part of the problem but also part of the solution; and today's boys and girls whom we want to grow up believing in the full equality and dignity of human beings”.
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, referred to an article on violence against women published on Tuesday 29 July. The data in the article make clear the urgency of the situation. It is estimated that at least 12 women die as a result of gender-related violence in Europe every day. In 2013, available statistics showed that domestic violence claimed the lives of 121 women in France, 134 in Italy, 37 in Portugal, 54 in Spain and 143 in the United Kingdom (according to Turkish media, at least 214 women were killed by men last year in mainly domestic violence related incidents). (LC)