Latvia has withdrawn from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women

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The Latvian Parliament (Seimas) in its second final reading approved a bill denouncing the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention.

56 deputies voted for this decision: from the pro-Russian parties “Stability”, “Latvia First”, as well as the nationalist parties “National Rally”, “Joint List” and “Union of Greens and Peasants”. Deputies from the centrist parties “New Unity” and “Progressive” spoke out against the abolition of the Istanbul Convention.

Now, within ten days, the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, can decide to proclaim the bill or return it to the Seimas for reconsideration - the NGO center Marta and the Protests organization called on him to do this, and more than two thousand public figures from Latvia left their signatures on the application for the return of the bill to the Seimas.

The adoption of the bill was preceded by a 12-hour debate in the Seimas. For the second reading, 17 proposals were submitted to the bill, which were rejected by the Parliamentary Commission on Foreign Affairs. Amendments were introduced by deputies who opposed the denunciation of the Convention.

In addition, against the background of the discussion of the bill, three protests took place near the Seimas, the participants of which called on Latvian parliamentarians to refuse to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. The last of them, held on October 29, gathered about five thousand people - this is one of the largest protests in the history of modern Latvia.

At the same time, about 20 people came out to protest in support of the denunciation of the Istanbul Convention.

In addition, diplomats from 15 countries, including Germany, France and the UK, wrote a letter to senior Latvian officials expressing “concerns” about the impending repeal of the Istanbul Convention.

The bill to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention became possible after the coalition party Green and Farmers Union decided to support the decision to submit the opposition bill to a parliamentary commission for consideration. In fact, the party violated the coalition agreement, which was concluded in September 2023.

DOXA spoke with Latvian activist andauthor of the channel “Radical Mood” Kira, who noted that “[Latvian] society is strongly split, and right-wing sentiments in our government are only intensifying,” although at the same time, people not only of leftist, but also liberal views are beginning to resist, as can be seen in the example of the protest against the denunciation of the Istanbul Convention.

She says that the “right turn” in Latvian society is visible not only in the example of the Istanbul Convention, but also in the context of increased raids against migrants and proposals at the legislative level to limit the right to abortion for Latvian women.

“I do not perceive this situation as something unexpected. Fascization is rapidly penetrating into all spheres of life, along with large-scale militarization, and we must now contribute as much as possible to resistance, both informational and street,” the activist notes.

Kira adds that she will continue to organize new protests together “with her comrades from our independent center Maiznīca.”

“What is important now is to create and strengthen connections with each other, build communities, and especially stand up for the most vulnerable groups in society, who are the first to suffer from the machine of state violence,” she concludes.

Latvia signed the Istanbul Convention in 2016 and ratified it in January 2024.

The document, adopted in Istanbul in 2011, was signed by 39 countries. It provides a road map to combating domestic violence and violence against women and is considered one of the most effective international treaties to protect women's rights. In particular, he helped criminalize various forms of sexualized violence and harassment in European countries.