On Thursday, a majority of Saeima deputies supported a declaration prepared and signed by members of the National Alliance (NA), the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS), and the United List (AS), affirming the state’s commitment to act purposefully to protect everyone from violence—especially women and children—and providing for appropriate solutions to be implemented at the legislative level.
The declaration was drafted as an alternative to the so-called Istanbul Convention.
The declaration was backed by 56 deputies from ZZS, NA, AS, the parties “Stability” and “Latvia First” (LPV). Deputy Andrejs Ceļapīters also voted in favor. Deputies from New Unity (JV) and unaffiliated MPs Skaidrīte Ābrama, Igors Rajevs, and Didzis Šmits did not participate in the vote.
All eight deputies from the Progressives voted against the declaration.
Before the vote, MP Leila Rasima (P) said in the Saeima sitting that the initiative to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention and the idea to create an “alternative” had met with massive institutional and public condemnation, and that resistance is strong. “Their relatives and friends are writing to them asking why they want to withdraw from the Convention,” Rasima said, addressing the deputies who signed the declaration.
She also reproached NA and ZZS for cooperating with Ainārs Šlesers (LPV). The deputy said this “alternative” is an attempt to justify their vote to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention.
Progressives deputy Jana Simanovska called the deputies’ proposed alternative a “convention derivative.”
She noted that “we have forgotten who our friends are,” stressing that she is ashamed to tell politicians from other countries about what is happening in Latvia’s political arena. She stated that withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention aligns with the Kremlin’s narrative.
“By withdrawing from the Convention, we part ways with trusted partners,” Simanovska declared.
Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica (JV) said the declaration is both good and bad at the same time. In her view, any commitment to eradicate violence in Latvia is good and necessary. She pointed out that since the Istanbul Convention was adopted, a number of measures to combat violence have been implemented, and far more people have sought help.
She noted that the bill envisaged by the declaration could indeed be drafted and might be useful—the Saeima could draft such a law.
At the same time, the deputy acknowledged that this declaration is harmful because it has created the illusion that it could in any way be an alternative to the Istanbul Convention.
She stressed that Saeima deputies must understand the weight of their decisions.
“This declaration is a declaration; we often use this form to communicate with our international partners (..), yet such declarations or resolutions do not have the force of law, and domestically—sorry—but they carry the weight of an open letter,” Kalniņa-Lukaševica said, noting that a declaration cannot grant anyone additional protection and cannot be an alternative to a legally binding international convention.
She added that the Saeima can, by law, assign any task to the government, but resolutions do not adopt normative provisions. “With such a declaration we cannot assign a binding task to the Cabinet of Ministers,” she said, pointing out that a bill can be drafted in the Saeima.
Kalniņa-Lukaševica explained that JV decided not to participate in the vote to draw attention to and emphasize that an illusion is being created of an alternative to the Convention, for which there is no domestic alternative.
“We must remain within Europe’s community of values
and fight violence within the European value framework. We should not tear ourselves out of Europe’s value space and toss ourselves into some ‘Eastern cauldron,’” she said.
Opposition deputy Ināra Mūrniece (NA) countered that “it’s not that simple,” as the discussion concerns “ideological issues.” “Therefore, we will not be able to convince each other,” Mūrniece said, reminding that her values are conservative.
Mūrniece objected to Kalniņa-Lukaševica, stating that Parliament can, by its decision, assign tasks to the government. In her view, Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (JV) should only be pleased and could already begin drafting this law.
ZZS Saeima faction leader Harijs Rokpelnis said that
a spoken word has power, but a written word has twice as much.
He noted that ahead lies a bill stating that Latvia’s parliament stands against violence. He called on deputies to support the declaration.
Līga Rasnača (P) said it is important to understand which countries we want to stand together with and which have values not fully aligned with ours. She pointed out that the only country that has denounced the Istanbul Convention is Turkey, where women obtained voting rights 20 years later than in Latvia.
She said these are crossroads at which we choose our path. “If we demonstrate that international agreements are not important to us, that we have other values—some narrow, provincial values—then perhaps let’s go further? There are four more conventions on women’s equal rights—maybe we should denounce those as well?” she asked rhetorically.
Deputy Česlavs Batņa (AS) said in a brief address that he stands against violence, but
objections to certain issues do not mean that he or others can be called “Kremlin agents.”
Amils Saļimovs (“Stability”) said he was unsure whether the discussion was about violence or about who has more clout in the Saeima chamber. He expressed confusion as to why the Progressives do not support the declaration if they are against violence.
JV Saeima faction leader Edmunds Jurēvics stated that “tangled in their own arguments and in the Kremlin’s disinformation campaign, opposition colleagues are trying to cover their shame before the public with this declarative document that is incompatible with the Constitution.”
Jurēvics said the opposition’s draft decision “against violence” almost verbatim repeats the convention they disparage, but is aimed at canceling international commitments.
He also announced that JV “will not take part in this farce.” “We must remain within the European value space,” he said.
Deputy Didzis Šmits argued that
the real violence is this debate itself.
In his words, it is violence against human intellect. He said that all this began because ZZS wanted to be in government and therefore voted, when ratifying the Convention, against their conscience.
Now, having been in Siliņa’s government, ZZS wants to be back in the Saeima after this term as well, Šmits said.
As already reported, deputies from NA, ZZS, and AS have signed and submitted to the Saeima a declaration affirming the state’s commitment to act purposefully to protect everyone from violence—especially women and children—and to implement appropriate solutions at the legislative level.
NA has stated that the issue of preventing violence must not become an ideological battle
and that the substance of violence problems must be addressed. The goal of the declaration is to achieve practical action—help for victims and strict accountability for perpetrators.
The declaration adopted by the Saeima provides for drafting by the 1st of March, 2026 a new, comprehensive law on the prevention and eradication of violence against women, children, and in the family, as well as general violence prevention.
The law will set out the state’s duty to actively address problems of violence, ensure victim protection and support—legal, psychological, and social assistance—provide strict accountability both for acts of violence and for inaction by state institutions, and regulate data collection, inter-agency cooperation, and public education in the field of violence prevention.
The National Alliance has emphasized that real results are possible only if specific, practically implementable provisions that address problems at their core are incorporated into national legislation.
It has also been reported that at the end of September,
due to ZZS’s vote in the Saeima to denounce the Istanbul Convention, pronounced instability began
in the governing coalition. Although the coalition partners have pledged to work toward adopting next year’s “security budget,” few politicians now express confidence in Prime Minister Evika Siliņa’s (JV) government’s ability to function in the long term.
In Latvia, the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence—the so-called Istanbul Convention—entered into force on May 1 of last year. It is an international treaty that requires participating states to develop coordinated policies to better protect women from all forms of violence, as well as both women and men from domestic violence. Among other things, member states must ensure comprehensive assistance and protection for victims, crisis centers, a 24/7 hotline, specialized support centers for victims of sexual violence, and protect and support children who witness violence.
JV has 25 deputies in the Saeima; the ZZS faction has 16 deputies, and the Progressives have eight deputies. AS has 13 deputies, the National Alliance 12 deputies, and both LPV and “Stability” have eight deputies each. There are also 10 unaffiliated deputies in the Saeima, some of whom support the ruling coalition.
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