On the morning of Wednesday 23 June, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe invited a high-level panel to participate in a debate with its members.
The guests were human rights activist Nadia Murad, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo (who initiated a coalition of prime ministers in favour of the Convention), President of the Romanian Senate Anca Dana Dragu, French Minister for Gender Equality Elisabeth Moreno, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women Dubravka Šimonović, and Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić.
“Nothing will make us back down”, said the latter.
Faced with Turkey’s withdrawal from the Convention, which will be official on 1 July, and the “misconceptions” put forward by some governments, she said the best response was to “widen the circle of States which are party to the Convention”.
There are currently 34 of these, with Liechtenstein having formalised its ratification on 17 June.
The next ratifications, those of Ukraine (signatory in 2011) and the United Kingdom (signatory in 2012), were announced during the debate.
Mexico, a Council of Europe Observer State, has announced its signature.
A call was also made for ratification by the European Union, which signed the Convention in June 2017. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)