The proposal from the Progressive Party to the Cabinet of Ministers to immediately submit to the Saeima the Istanbul Convention for ratification was rejected in the parliament on Thursday, the 18th of May.
Previously it was reported that in the beginning of May the Council of Europe approved the European Union’s joining of the convention on the prevention of violence against women. The EU will finally ratify the first legally binding international instrument for the prevention of violence against women six years after the convention’s signing.
Until now the EU was slow in ratifying the convention in full, because multiple countries, including Latvia, refused to to it despite multiple invitations from the Council of Europe.
On the 6th of October 2021 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the EU can ratify the Istanbul Convention without consent from all member states.
As a result, MEPs held two separate votes on joining the convention in the section on EU and state governments’ duties and the section on the cooperation of courts of law in criminal cases, as well as asylum and non-refoulement provisions. In the first vote 472 MEPs voted in favour, 62 voted against, and 73 MEPs abstained in the vote. In the second vote 464 MEPs voted in favour, 81 voted against and 45 abstained in the vote.
Saeima deputy Andris Šuvajevs from the Progressive party said the Council of Europe invites all EU member states to act in accordance with the court’s ruling and ratify the Istanbul Convention.
The convention provides easily accessible crisis centre, medical and forensic examinations, trauma support and consultations for victims of violence.
According to him, in many countries, Latvia included, crisis centres are not easily accessible for victims of rape and violence.
Opposition deputy Ainārs Šlesers said “what is happening now shows that legislation in Latvia is very good”.
As confirmation of this, Šlesers referenced what Saeima speaker Edgars Smiltēns said in an interview to LTV, that “Latvia’s legislation is 99% corresponding with international law, and there is not much to improve”.
According to Šlesers, the problem is how requirements of the law are followed. He also mentioned the main argument why deputies from Latvia in First Place are against the convention is the definition of what is a man and what is a woman, not the solution proposed to combat violence. “This is the main issue that makes us vote against specific solutions,” he said, adding that Latvia’s Constitution makes it clear that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, as well as explains what is a man and what is a woman.
Kaspars Briškens from the Progressive Party said Šlesers’ argument “is nothing more than an old cliche about the definition of a family”, adding that the Convention “does not mention anything of the sort”.
He also claimed that ratification of the convention would help adopt a deeper monitoring function and data collection about violent individuals and violent episodes, as well as ensure information exchange between institutions and law enforcers to battle signs of violence. The politician also said the convention would provide training for the police and other law enforcers to help identify signs of violence easier.
After the vote, New Unity member Agnese Krasta said arguments from opposition deputies against the Istanbul Convention are meaningless.
Krasta explained that in 2015 then the Minister of Welfare Jānis Reirs signed the convention on prevention of violence against women and domestic violence, which the Latvian parliament still has not ratified.
“The convention is not and not will be a magic wand that will cause violence to go away in a single day, but it does make it the country’s duty to develop a comprehensive system, policy and activities to protect all victims of violence against women and domestic violence, as well as help victims of this kind of violence,” said Krasta.
The politician said she is said that instead of protecting the least protected residents, their safety and health, some Saeima deputies continue misleading the public. Krasta said New Unity’s faction in the Saeima respects variety of opinions, but at the same time it seems
some politicians are trying to divert focus towards acceptable and unacceptable definitions of the concept of family, “thereby employing and repeating Kremlin-style rhetoric”.
She also reminded that the Istanbul Convention “is not someone’s fancy, it was requested by residents”.
Krasta also said New Unity turned to the Constitutional Court in 2020 with a request to evaluate if the convention corresponds to Latvia’s Constitution.
“The court concluded in its ruling that the point of the convention is prevention of violence against women and domestic violence to promote gender equality. This means all duties provided by the convention apply only to this particular goal of the convention,” Krasta explained.
Despite the arguments, 34 Saeima deputies voted in favour of the convention, 36 voted against, and 12 abstained.
Most Saeima deputies voted against handing the legislative draft to the parliament’s Human Rights Committee.
The Combined List party, meanwhile, invites the Saeima to immediately resolve the growing violence trends.
Šuvajevs, on the other hand, called this proposal “bipolar tactic”.
“I can see yet another attempt to mystify the aspects of violence in Latvia by saying that we want to resolve violence both against women and every other person, and mixing the two things together in the process,” said Šuvājevs, adding that the European Parliament has already made decisions in regards to the ratification of the Istanbul Convention.
The deputy said that the European Union is moving towards this convention’s ratification.
This is not the first tim the topic of the Istanbul Convention ahs caused heated discussions among politicians. At the end of April, the Progressive party had proposed ratifying the convention, but the majority of deputies voted against it.
This decision was met from some residents with condemnation.
Many Latvian residents mentioned in the public information space that for Saeima deputies Šlesers, Aleksejs Rosļikovs, Smiltēns, as well as the National Alliance, “victims of violence have two options – either wait until they are killed or become murderers”.
Many residents also said that “the definition of family” is a weak argument to oppose the convention’s ratification.
PM Krišjānis Kariņš mentioned in a recent interview to Delfi.vl that he is sad and confused that a large number of politicians remain focused on rejecting the Istanbul Convention. The PM explained that such a decision shows to the rest of theworld that violence in Latvia is considered normal.
“This is an archaism. Very narrow thinking,” said the PM, adding that he hopes partners’ opinion will change in the next four years.
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