Ratification of the Istanbul Convention has no support from Latvia’s residents, said Saeima speaker Edvards Smiltēns in an interview to TV3 programme 900 seconds.
In regards to the recent murder of a woman in Jēkabpils, the politician said he agrees with President Egils Levits’ opinion that the blame falls on the state for this.
The Saeima speaker trusts Minister of the Interior Māris Kučinskis, who has already requested a full investigation of “what exactly went wrong”. Smiltēns agrees the woman’s murder does warrant a full revision of existing regulations in order to prevent this situation from repeating.
However, when it comes to the question as to whether or not Latvia should ratify the Istanbul Convention, Smiltēns said Latvia’s laws already include everything listed in that convention and that
“there is no single convention or directive that can protect people”.
Smiltēns is confident that ratification of the convention has no support in society – he became confident of this after driving “around nearly every corner in Latvia” before elections.
There is no support for the convention’s ratification in the Saeima either.
However, Smiltēns said he does not how he would have voted before, because his opinion of this matter was different in the past.
On the 16th of April a 1983-born woman was stabbed to death in front of her child and mother in Jēkabpils.
The murder was committed by the woman’s ex-husband Leons Rusiņš. For months before the murder he sent frequent threats and persecuted her. His behaviour was reported to the police, but no protection was provided.
The chief of State Police has ordered an internal investigation “to make sure police officers acted in accordance to the law, actively and professionally”. Ruks invites looking at this incident in a broader sense, adding that it would be necessary to add amendments to the law and provide more severe consequences for people who refuse to comply with court-mandated duties.
The Istanbul Convention is a treaty composed by the European Council to battle violence against women and domestic violence. The objective of the convention is prevention of violence, protection of victims and ending the “impunity of those responsible for violence”. The convention came into force in August 2014, when it was ratified by ten countries (Islamic Turkey was the first). 37 countries have ratified the convention so far.
It was signed by then the Minister of Welfare Jānis Reirs on behalf of Latvia in May 2016. But it still needs to be ratified by the Saeima.
Also read: Latvia’s presidents says the blame for the murder in Jēkabpils is on the state