The National Alliance (NA) supports President Edgars Rinkēvičs’ call to continue decision-making on the Istanbul Convention in the next Saeima, the party told the LETA news agency.
An extraordinary sitting of the Saeima is scheduled for Wednesday, the 5th of November at 09:30, where MPs will decide on forwarding the law—returned by the President for reconsideration—on Latvia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention, to the committees for renewed review.
The NA supports the option of putting the decision on denouncing the Convention to a national referendum and says it will continue seeking ways, through constructive discussion, to eliminate what it sees as ideological risks and interpretation concerns related to certain provisions of the Convention in the long term. The party pledged to continue supporting efforts to eradicate all forms of violence in Latvian society, according to a statement to the media.
The law was previously examined by the Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee, where a majority is held by MPs from parties that supported the withdrawal. The committee is chaired by opposition MP Ināra Mūrniece (NA). Extensive debate is not expected at this week’s Saeima sitting, as the procedure does not provide for it in such cases.
The President has called for the decision to be left to the next Saeima,
to be elected in less than a year.
As explained on the parliament’s website, when a law is returned to the Saeima for reconsideration, MPs must forward the President’s substantiated objections to the committee without debate and decide on the deadlines for submitting proposals and for the law’s repeated consideration. The reconsideration follows the rules of the third reading. During this stage, only the President’s objections and amendments relating to them may be examined. If the Saeima does not amend the law, the President cannot raise objections a second time, as stipulated by the Constitution.
On 30th of October, with votes from the opposition and the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS), the Saeima adopted the law on Latvia’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. The bill was submitted by the opposition party Latvia First (LPV) and supported by the National Alliance (NA), the United List (AS), For Stability!, and ZZS politicians in the ruling coalition. The governing coalition parties New Unity (JV) and The Progressives did not support the withdrawal.
A total of 56 MPs voted in favour, 32 MPs from JV and The Progressives voted against, and two MPs—Igaors Rajevs and Didzis Šmits—abstained. Debate on the bill lasted more than 13 hours.
On Monday, the Presidential Chancellery hosted a meeting at Riga Castle with representatives of the Saeima, the government and NGOs regarding the law adopted in parliament.
Many NGOs, as well as JV and The Progressives, had previously urged the President not to promulgate the law
and to return it to the Saeima for reconsideration.
A protest against the withdrawal held outside the Saeima last Wednesday gathered around 5,000 people, making it one of the largest demonstrations in recent years. Another protest against the decision will take place on the 6th of November at Dome Square. Protests are also being planned in Liepāja, Cēsis and Daugavpils, as well as in Tallinn and Tartu in Estonia, Brussels, Helsinki, Berlin, The Hague and Vienna.
Most experts and NGOs working in the field of violence prevention oppose the withdrawal, warning that it would weaken protection for victims and negatively affect Latvia’s international reputation among Western partners.
Following the Saeima vote, the international human rights organisation Amnesty International issued a statement. Monica Costa Riba, Senior Campaigner on Women’s Rights, said: “Latvia’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention would be a devastating blow to the protection and rights of women and girls in the country, as well as all those facing domestic violence, sending a dangerous message to abusers that they can exploit and kill women and girls with impunity.”
Meanwhile, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Theodoros Rousopoulos, stated on Friday that
the Saeima’s decision to withdraw from the Convention is a dangerous signal.
In Latvia, the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence—the Istanbul Convention—entered into force on 1 May last year. It is an international treaty requiring member 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 obligations, states must ensure comprehensive assistance and protection for victims, provide crisis centres, a 24/7 helpline, specialised support centres for victims of sexual violence, and protect and support children who witness violence.
Read also: Latvian President sends law on withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention back to parliament