Istanbul Convention

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe against violence against women and domestic violence which was opened for signature on 11 May 2011, in Istanbul, Turkey. The convention aims at prevention of violence, victim protection and to end the impunity of perpetrators.[1] As of March 2019, it has been signed by 45 countries and the European Union.[2] On 12 March 2012, Turkey became the first country to ratify the convention, followed by 33 other countries from 2013 to 2019 (Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece,[3] Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland).[2] The Convention came into force on 1 August 2014.[2]

For the 1990 WTO Convention on Temporary Admission, see ATA Carnet § The Istanbul Convention.

Istanbul Convention
Drafted7 April 2011
Signed11 May 2011
LocationIstanbul, Turkey
Effective1 August 2014
Condition10 ratifications of which 8 from Council of Europe members
Signatories45 states + EU
Ratifiers34
DepositarySecretary General of the Council of Europe
CitationsCETS No. 210
LanguagesEnglish and French

History

The Council of Europe has undertaken a series of initiatives to promote the protection of women against violence since the 1990s. In particular, these initiatives have resulted in the adoption, in 2002, of the Council of Europe Recommendation Rec(2002)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the protection of women against violence,[4] and the running of a Europe-wide campaign, from 2006 to 2008, to combat violence against women, including domestic violence.[5] The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has also taken a firm political stance against all forms of violence against women. It has adopted a number of resolutions and recommendations calling for legally-binding standards on preventing, protecting against and prosecuting the most severe and widespread forms of gender-based violence.

National reports, studies and surveys revealed the magnitude of the problem in Europe. The campaign in particular showed a large variation in Europe of national responses to violence against women and domestic violence. Thus the need for harmonized legal standards to ensure that victims benefit from the same level of protection everywhere in Europe became apparent. The Ministers of Justice of Council of Europe member states began discussing the need to step up protection from domestic violence, in particular intimate partner violence.

The Council of Europe decided it was necessary to set comprehensive standards to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence. In December 2008, the Committee of Ministers set up an expert group mandated to prepare a draft convention in this field. Over the course of just over two years, this group, called the CAHVIO (Ad Hoc Committee for preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence),[6] developed a draft text. During the later stage of drafting of the convention, UK, Italy, Russia, and the Holy See proposed several amendments to limit the requirements provided by the convention. These amendments were criticized by Amnesty International.[7] The final draft of the convention was produced in December 2010.

Adoption, signature and ratification

General process

The convention was adopted by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on 7 April 2011. It opened for signature on 11 May 2011 on the occasion of the 121st Session of the Committee of Ministers in Istanbul. It entered into force following 10 ratifications, eight of which were required to be member states of the Council of Europe. As of December 2015, the convention was signed by 39 states, followed by ratification of the minimum eight Council of Europe states: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Montenegro, Portugal, Serbia, and Turkey. Later that year, it was ratified by Andorra, Denmark, France, Malta, Monaco, Spain, and Sweden. In 2015, it was ratified also by Slovenia, Finland, Poland and the Netherlands, and in 2016, by San Marino, Belgium and Romania; in 2017 by Georgia, Norway, Germany, Estonia, Cyprus and Switzerland, in 2018 by Croatia, Macedonia, Iceland, Greece and Luxembourg, and in 2019, by Republic of Ireland.[3] On 13 June 2017, European Commissioner Věra Jourová (Gender Equality) signed the Istanbul Convention on behalf of the European Union.[8] States that have ratified the convention are legally bound by its provisions once it enters into force.

Željka Markić and others urging Croatia not to ratify the convention (2018)
Part of a series on
Violence against women
Issues
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Sexual assault and rape
International legal framework
Related topics
Signatory[10] Signature Ratification Entry into force
 Albania19/12/201104/02/201301/08/2014
 Andorra22/02/201322/04/201401/08/2014
 Armenia18/01/2018
 Austria11/05/201114/11/201301/08/2014
 Belgium11/09/201214/03/201601/07/2016
 Bosnia and Herzegovina08/03/201307/11/201301/08/2014
 Bulgaria21/04/2016
 Croatia22/01/201312/06/201801/10/2018
 Cyprus16/06/201510/11/201701/03/2018
 Czech Republic02/05/2016
 Denmark[note 5]11/10/201323/04/201401/08/2014
 Estonia02/12/201426/10/201701/02/2018
 European Union13/06/2017
 Finland11/05/201117/04/201501/08/2015
 France11/05/201104/07/201401/11/2014
 Georgia19/06/201419/05/201701/09/2017
 Germany11/05/201112/10/201701/02/2018
 Greece11/05/201118/06/201801/10/2018
 Hungary14/03/2014
 Iceland11/05/201126/04/201801/08/2018
 Ireland05/11/201508/03/201901/07/2019
 Italy27/09/201210/09/201301/08/2014
 Latvia18/05/2016
 Liechtenstein10/11/2016
 Lithuania07/06/2013
 Luxembourg11/05/201107/08/201801/12/2018
 Malta21/05/201229/07/201401/11/2014
 Moldova06/02/2017
 Monaco20/09/201207/10/201401/02/2015
 Montenegro11/05/201122/04/201301/08/2014
 Netherlands[note 6]14/11/201218/11/201501/03/2016
 North Macedonia08/07/201123/03/201801/07/2018
 Norway07/07/201105/07/201701/11/2017
 Poland18/12/201227/04/201501/08/2015
 Portugal11/05/201105/02/201301/08/2014
 Romania27/06/201423/05/201601/09/2016
 San Marino30/04/201428/01/201601/05/2016
 Serbia04/04/201221/11/201301/08/2014
 Slovakia11/05/2011
 Slovenia08/09/201105/02/201501/06/2015
 Spain11/05/201110/04/201401/08/2014
 Sweden11/05/201101/07/201401/11/2014
  Switzerland11/09/201314/12/201701/04/2018
 Turkey11/05/201114/03/201201/08/2014
 Ukraine07/11/2011
 United Kingdom08/06/2012

Rejection by the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria
Protest against the Istanbul Convention in Sofia (February 2018)

In January 2018, the Council of Ministers of Bulgaria adopted a proposal to the Parliament to ratify the convention. The decision was quickly condemned by some government ministers, members of parliament, media groups and civic organisations, who suggested that the convention would eventually lead to a formal recognition of a third gender and same-sex marriage.[12] After widespread backlash, the third Borisov Government postponed the ratification and transferred the decision to the Constitutional Court, which would rule whether it would be legal.[13] President Rumen Radev, an opponent of the ratification, hailed the postponement as a "triumph of common sense", stating that the convention is ambiguous and that domestic violence can only be addressed by adequate Bulgarian laws and improved law enforcement.[14]

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov cited the isolation of his GERB party, which was not supported even by its coalition partner, the far-right United Patriots. Borisov expressed surprise that the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) was firmly against the convention as well, and suggested that the Socialists are opposing the European Union altogether.[15] The BSP declared itself firmly against the convention, causing a rift between the Party of European Socialists and the BSP's new political line under Korneliya Ninova.[16] According to the Socialists' "Vision for Bulgaria" programme, the convention is "not meant to protect women. The convention is against fundamental values of European civilisation".[17]

On 27 July 2018, the Constitutional Court pronounced Resolution No 13 on Constitutional Case No. 3/2018 stating that "the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, does not comply with the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria". In its decision, the Court identified a relation between previous Council of Europe documents against domestic violence and the expansion of transgender rights. According to the Constitutional Court, the convention offers a binary interpretation of gender as both a biological and social category, which contradicts the constitution of Bulgaria, where humans are irrevocably defined as biologically male or female, with equal standing as citizens. The convention therefore lays formal ground to promote non-biological definitions of gender, which are deemed unconstitutional.[18]

Women's rights groups were outraged by the Bulgarian government's decision not to ratify the Istanbul Convention. In November 2018, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, hundreds of people demonstrated in the centre of Sofia against violence against women under the motto #YouAreNotAlone (#НеСиСама), demanding effective action from the institutions including the creation of prevention programmes and shelters for victims. The organisers, the Bulgarian Fond for Women, cited the fact that in the first eleven months of 2018, almost 30 women were killed in Bulgaria, most of them by their partners.[19]

Rejection by the National Council of Slovakia

Conservative, Christian democratic, Roman Catholic, nationalist and far-right groups and parties in Slovakia have been opposed to the country ratifying the convention, especially because of its clauses concerning LGBT rights, which they portrayed as "extreme liberalism" that corrodes "traditional values" they felt needed to be protected.[20][21] On 29 March 2019, one day before the 2019 Slovak presidential election, nationalist politicians forced through a parliamentary resolution asking Slovakia's government not to ratify the Istanbul Convention, in an effort to mobilise conservative voters to vote for Maroš Šefčovič instead of the progressive candidate Zuzana Čaputová, who had been supporting LGBT rights and women's right to abortion.[20] Although Čaputová won the election and became Slovakia's first female president, conservative groups stepped up their campaign to prevent Slovakia from ratifying the convention and restricting access to abortion in the following months.[21] On 25 February 2020, the Parliament of Slovakia, the National Council, rejected the Convention at an extraordinary session by a vote of 17–96 (37 absent).[22] Following the decision of Parliament, President Zuzana Čaputová sent a letter to the Council of Europe on 6 March 2020, informing it that the Slovak Republic could not become a party to the Istanbul Convention. Presidential spokesperson Martin Strizinec commented: "Since the necessary condition to ratify the convention is the consent of Parliament, but this hasn't happened, this convention won't be ratified by the president," adding that Čaputová repeatedly stated that if Parliament decided on the document in a constitutionally prescribed manner, she would respect the will of its members.[23]

Poland

In July 2020, Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro declared he will begin preparing the formal process to withdraw from the treaty. He said that the treaty is harmful because it requires that schools teach children about gender in an ideological way and de-emphasizes biological sex.[24] In 2012, when in opposition, Ziobro had referred to the treaty as "an invention, a feminist creation aimed at justifying gay ideology".[25] The Polish government also criticized the treaty for stating that "culture, custom, religion, tradition or so-called 'honor' shall not be regarded as justification" for acts of violence against women.[26] In Warsaw, hundreds of people demonstrated against the withdrawal.[24] The announcement was made soon after the European Union relaxed the link between funding and the rule of law, under pressure from Poland and Hungary.[25] The Council of Europe stated "Leaving the Istanbul Convention would be highly regrettable and a major step backwards in the protection of women against violence in Europe."[24]

Hungary

In May 2020, the National Assembly adopted a political declaration in which it called on the government not to go any further in acceding to the convention and to lobby the European Union to do the same. The declaration was adopted with 115 votes in favour, 35 against and three abstentions.[27]

Main provisions

The Istanbul Convention is the first legally-binding instrument which "creates a comprehensive legal framework and approach to combat violence against women" and is focused on preventing domestic violence, protecting victims and prosecuting accused offenders.[28]

It characterizes violence against women as a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination (Art.3(a)). Countries should exercise due diligence when preventing violence, protecting victims and prosecuting perpetrators (Art. 5). The convention also contains a definition of gender: for the purpose of the Convention gender is defined in Article 3(c) as "the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men". Moreover, the treaty establishes a series of offences characterized as violence against women. States which ratify the Convention must criminalize several offences, including: psychological violence (Art.33); stalking (Art.34); physical violence (Art.35); sexual violence, including rape, explicitly covering all engagement in non-consensual acts of a sexual nature with a person (Art.36), forced marriage (Art.37); female genital mutilation (Art.38), forced abortion and forced sterilisation (Art.39). The Convention states that sexual harassment must be subject to "criminal or other legal sanction" (Art. 40). The convention also includes an article targeting crimes committed in the name of so-called "honour" (Art. 42).[2]

Structure
Clickable English language version of the Istanbul Convention

The convention contains 81 articles separated into 12 chapters. Its structure follows the structure of the Council of Europe's most recent conventions. The structure of the instrument is based on the "four Ps": Prevention, Protection and support of victims, Prosecution of offenders and Integrated Policies. Each area foresees a series of specific measures.[29] The convention also establishes obligations in relation to the collection of data and supporting research in the field of violence against women (Art. 11).

The preamble recalls the European Convention on Human Rights, European Social Charter and Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings as well as international human rights treaties by United Nations and Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. In Article 2, this Convention indicates that the provisions shall apply in time of peace and also in situations of armed conflicts in violence against women and domestic violence. Article 3 defines key terms:

  • "violence against women" is "violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women and shall mean all acts of gender-based violation that result in, or are likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological, or economic harm or suffering to women including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life",
  • "domestic violence": "all acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that occur with the family or domestic unit or between former or current spouses or partners, whether or not the perpetrator shares or has shared the same residence with the victim."
  • "gender": means "the socially constructed roles, behaviours, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men."
  • "gender-based violence against women": means "violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately."

Article 4 prohibits several types of discrimination stating: The implementation of the provisions of this convention by the Parties, in particular measure to protect the rights of victims, shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, gender, race, colour, language political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, state of health, disability, marital status, migrant or refugee status, or other status.

Monitoring mechanism GREVIO

The convention mandates an independent expert body, the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), with monitoring the implementation of the convention. Its members are elected by the state parties; depending on the number of state parties the body consists of between ten and fifteen members.[30]

The first ten members were elected in 2014: President Feride Acar (Turkey), First Vice-President Marceline Naudi (Malta), Second Vice-President Simona Lanzoni (Italy), and members Biljana Brankovic (Serbia), Françoise Brie (France), Gemma Gallego (Spain), Helena Leitao (Portugal), Rosa Logar (Austria), Iris Luarasi (Albania) and Vesna Ratkovic (Montenegro).[31]

Five additional members were elected in 2018: Per Arne Håkansson (Sweden), Sabine Kräuter-Stockton (Germany), Vladimer Mkervalishvili (Georgia), Rachel Eapen Paul (Norway) and Aleid van den Brink (Netherlands).[32]

Misconceptions

In a press release in November 2018, the Council of Europe stated that "Despite its clearly stated aims, several religious and ultra conservative groups have been spreading false narratives about the Istanbul Convention". The release stated that the convention does not seek to impose a certain lifestyle or interfere with personal organization of private life; instead it only seeks to prevent violence against women and domestic violence. The release states that "the convention is certainly not about ending sexual differences between women and men. Nowhere does the convention ever imply that women and men are or should be "the same"" and that "the convention does not seek to regulate family life and/or family structures: it neither contains a definition of "family" nor does it promote a particular type of family setting."[33]

According to Balkan Insight, the criticism of the convention, strongest in central and Eastern Europe and mainly by the far right and national conservatives, has little foundation in its actual content. "Using disinformation, populist rhetoric, and appeals to Christian and Islamic morality, [critics] have managed to reframe what is essentially a set of guidelines that creates 'a comprehensive legal framework and approach to combat violence against women', into a sinister attempt by Western Europeans to foist their overly-liberal policies on reluctant societies further east."[34]

See also

Notes
  1. 1. The European Union is also a signatory.
  2. Includes non-CoE states that were involved in elaborating the Convention; none of them (Canada, the Holy See (Vatican City), Japan, Mexico and the United States) has so far signed the Convention.
  3. At the time of this lecture, April 2014, Liri Kopachi was the Head of the Equality Division of the Council of Europe. As she correctly predicted, the Convention entered into force shortly after in August 2014.
  4. There is an error in the video's subtitles as well as in the transcript of this debate on the 'EU accession to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence' (held on 11 September 2017 in the European Parliament in Strasbourg). As the context indicates, Reintke meant 'to accede', not 'to exceed'; the words are homophones. Similarly, Reintke meant 'forefighters' (meaning 'champions' or 'soldiers who fight in the frontline'), not 'four fighters'.[9]
  5. The Convention does not apply to the Faroe Islands and Greenland.[11]
  6. The Convention does not apply to the Dutch Caribbean, only to the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.[11]

References
  1. Council of Europe (2011). "Explanatory Report to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence". Council of Europe. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  2. "Full list: Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 210". Council of Europe.
  3. "Publication to the Government Gazette of the ratification, by Greece, of the CoE Convention on violence against women and domestic violence (Original: Δημοσίευση σε ΦΕΚ του Ν.4531/2018 για την κύρωση από την Ελλάδα της Σύμβασης του Σ.τ.Ε. περί έμφυλης και ενδοοικογενειακής βίας)". Isotita.gr. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  4. "Recommendation Rec(2002)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the protection of women against violence". Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  5. "Campaign to Combat Violence against Women, including domestic violence (2006-2008)". Council of Europe. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  6. "Ad Hoc Committee on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CAHVIO)". Council of Europe. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  7. "Time to take a stand to oppose violence against women in Europe". Amnesty International. 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  8. "EU signs the Istanbul Convention". European Institute for Gender Equality. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  9. "EU accession to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (debate)". European Parliament. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  10. "Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 210: Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence". Council of Europe website. Council of Europe. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  11. "Reservations and Declarations for Treaty No.210 - Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence". Council of Europe. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  12. "Is the Istanbul Convention harmful for Bulgarian society?". Bulgarian National Radio. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  13. "Constitutional Court formulates legal case regarding Istanbul convention". OffNews. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  14. "Rumen Radev opposes the Istanbul convention". 1 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  15. "GERB withdraws Istanbul convention, will not "take the negatives alone"". Dnevnik. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  16. "Following BSP's action against Istanbul convention, PES will examine domestic violence in Bulgaria". Dnevnik. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  17. "BSP at the eurovote - "No" to Istanbul convention, migration pact and sanctions against Russia"". Kapital Daily. 12 January 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  18. "The complete decision of the Constitutional Court on the Istanbul convention". 24 Chasa. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  19. Francesco Martino (28 November 2018). "Sofia: in piazza contro la violenza sulle donne/Sofia: in the streets against violence against women". OBC Transeuropa. Retrieved 4 April 2020 – via YouTube.
  20. James Shotter (31 March 2019). "Anti-corruption lawyer elected Slovakia's first female president". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  21. Miroslava German Sirotnikova (11 December 2019). "Slovak Right Accused of Forcing Abortion as Election Issue". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  22. "National Council of the Slovak Republic - votes by members of parliament". Parliament of Slovakia (in Slovak). 25 February 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  23. "President informed Council of Europe about Slovakia's stance on convention". rtvs.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  24. Murray, Shona (27 July 2020). "'Pathetic': Poland's plan to quit domestic violence treaty slammed". euronews. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  25. Santora, Marc (27 July 2020). "Poland Considers Leaving Treaty on Domestic Violence, Spurring Outcry". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  26. SCISLOWSKA, MONIKA (27 July 2020). "Poles split over govt plan to exit domestic violence treaty". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  27. "Parliament Adopts Declaration Rejecting Istanbul Convention". Hungary Today. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  28. "Malta signs convention on domestic violence". Malta Star. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  29. "Ad Hoc Committee on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CAHVIO) interim report" (PDF). Council of Europe. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  30. About GREVIO – Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. Council of Europe.
  31. https://www.coe.int/en/web/istanbul-convention/members
  32. Five additional members joining GREVIO. Council of Europe.
  33. "Ending misconceptions about the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence" (Press release). Council of Europe. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  34. "Domestic Violence Treaty Falling Victim to Political Obtuseness". Balkan Insight. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.

Further reading
  • Bosak, Martina; Munivrana Vajda, Maja (May 2019). "The reality behind the Istanbul convention: Shattering conservative delusions". Women's Studies International Forum. 74: 77–83. doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2019.03.004.
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