Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

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Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

Title: Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence
Date: May 11, 2011
Come into effect: August 1, 2014
Reference: SEV 210 (official official text, English)
Reference (German): SEV 210 (unofficial translation)
Contract type: Multinational
Legal matter: Criminal law
Signing: 45
Ratification : 34 Current status

Germany: Ratification (October 12, 2017)
Austria: Ratification (November 14, 2013)
Switzerland: Ratification (December 14, 2017)
Please note the note on the current version of the contract .

The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence , also known as the Istanbul Convention , is an international treaty drawn up in 2011 . It creates binding legal norms against violence against women and domestic violence . On its basis they should be prevented and combated. It came into force on August 1, 2014.

Contents of the Convention

The Convention stipulates that gender equality must be enshrined in the constitutions and legal systems of the signatory states and that all discriminatory provisions must be abolished. In addition, offers of help for women are to be improved and people are to be made aware of the problem through educational offers. The individual measures provide for legal advice, psychological support, financial advice, help with access to accommodation (establishment of women's shelters ), training and further education as well as support in the search for work.

In addition, the signatory states undertake to take aggressive action against psychological violence (Article 33), stalking (Article 34), physical violence (Article 35), sexual violence including rape (Article 36), forced marriage (Article 37), female genital mutilation (Article 38 ), Forced abortion and sterilization (Article 39), sexual harassment (Article 40). Deliberate behavior in this regard is therefore a criminal offense. Likewise, according to Article 41, incitement to the acts according to Articles 33 to 39 and the attempt are to be made a criminal offense.

Regarding Chapter VII with Articles 59 to 61 see also : Article “Gender-specific persecution”, section “International conventions” .

Signature and ratification

  • Signed and ratified
  • Signed, not ratified
  • Not signed (Council of Europe states)
  • Not signed (non-Council of Europe countries)
  • Termination after ratification
  • The convention was signed by thirteen member states of the Council of Europe in Istanbul on May 11, 2011 . Its compliance is to be monitored by a commission of experts who can carry out urgent investigations on site. It is the second legally binding convention worldwide to protect women against violence.

    By March 2020, the convention had been signed by 45 states and ratified by 34. The Turkish parliament was the first of the signatory states to ratify it on March 14, 2012, but never applied it until its resignation in 2021. Austria ratified the convention on November 14, 2013, Germany on October 12, 2017 and Switzerland on December 14, 2017. The last ratification took place on July 1, 2019 by Ireland (as of March 2021).

    The United Kingdom as well as Liechtenstein , Latvia and Lithuania have signed but not yet ratified the Convention. The same applies to the Czech Republic , Slovakia , Hungary , Ukraine and Moldova as well as Bulgaria and Armenia . In 2018, the Bulgarian Constitutional Court ruled that the convention violated the constitution. The Swiss Federal Assembly approved the convention on June 16, 2017. The optional referendum was not held. With the dispatch of October 11, 2017 on the Federal Act on the Improvement of the Protection of Persons Affected by Violence, there is a draft for better protection of victims of domestic violence. In the spring of 2018, the Liechtenstein government wanted to initiate the necessary adjustments to the penal code in order to implement the national implementation and then ratify the Istanbul Convention.

    Reservations and withdrawals

    Croatia

    Croatia made a reservation in its declaration filed on June 12, 2018, stating that the Convention did not see itself obliged to “introduce gender ideology into the Croatian legal and educational system or modify the constitutional definition of marriage . "

    Poland

    With its declaration filed on April 27, 2015, Poland entered reservations against Article 18 (5) of the Convention and stated that it only wanted to offer Polish nationals consular protection under the Convention. Six other signatory countries have objected to Poland's declaration because they consider it to be inconsistent with Article 78 ("Reservations") of the Convention. Both Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro and Social Affairs Minister Marlena Maląg announced in July 2020 that Poland would withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. This announcement has remained until today (March 2021), and there has not yet been an exit.

    Turkey

    On March 19, 2021, Turkey became the first and so far (as of March 2021) only country to withdraw from the convention, which is intended to prevent and combat violence against women. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed the decree; No reason was given for leaving. Erdoğan has thus accommodated conservative and Islamist circles. They had demanded the exit and claimed that the agreement promoted divorces and harmed “family unity”. According to the organization We Will Stop Femicide , the convention was never implemented in Turkey. The organization called for demonstrations. According to Gökçe Gökçen of the opposition party CHP , the exit means that women will continue to be "second class citizens and will be killed". After several organizations and parties failed with a lawsuit before the Supreme Administrative Court, the exit took effect on July 1, 2021.

    See also

    Web links

    Individual evidence

    1. a b c d Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. Signatures and status of ratification of treaty 210. In: ETS No. 210. Council of Europe Treaty Office, May 11, 2011, accessed March 21, 2021 .
    2. Website of the German Institute for Human Rights : Press release: Human Rights Institute welcomes Germany's drawing of the Council of Europe Convention against Violence against Women and calls for rapid implementation ( Memento of June 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (May 11, 2011), last checked on May 13, 2011 May 2011.
    3. Website of the Swiss Competence Center for Human Rights: Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopts Convention on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (April 18, 2011), last checked on March 21, 2021.
    4. Thomas Avenarius u, Frank Nienhuysen Pinars gruesome message , Süddeutsche Zeitung, July 30, 2020, p. 2.
    5. a b Jürgen Gottschlich: Femizide - Turkey withdraws from the Istanbul Convention against Violence against Women. In: DerStandard . March 20, 2021, accessed March 21, 2021 .
    6. a b Volker Pabst: Turkey withdraws from the Istanbul Convention against Violence against Women - nationwide outrage. In: NZZ . March 21, 2021, accessed March 21, 2021 .
    7. a b Erdogan decides: Turkey leaves agreement to protect women from violence. In: FAZ . March 20, 2021, accessed March 21, 2021 .
    8. Unsuccessful intimidation. Retrieved June 27, 2021 .
    9. Federal Assembly of the Swiss Confederation: Federal Decree of June 17, 2016 on the approval of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. Retrieved December 7, 2017 .
    10. Swiss Federal Council: Message on the Federal Act on Improving the Protection of Persons Affected by Violence. October 11, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017 .
    11. ^ Government councilor Aurelia Frick: Answer to the minor question from the state parliament member Thomas Lageder of December 5, 2017 "Istanbul Convention". December 6, 2017, accessed December 7, 2017 .
    12. Strahinja Bućan: "Holy War" against the Istanbul Convention. In: Radio Praha . October 15, 2018, accessed March 8, 2019 .
    13. Reservations and declarations for Contract No. 210: Croatia .
    14. ^ Reservations and declarations for Treaty No. 210: Poland .
    15. CNN of July 26, 2020 and Radio Maryja of July 18, 2020.
    16. Istanbul Convention - Turkey withdraws from agreement on the protection of women. In: t-online.de . March 20, 2021, accessed March 20, 2021 .
    17. a b Turkey withdraws from the international protection agreement for women. In: DER SPIEGEL . March 20, 2021, accessed March 20, 2021 .
    18. zeit.de: Foreign Office reprimands Turkey for withdrawing from the women’s protection agreement
    19. Karin Senz, ARD-Studio Istanbul: Turkey withdraws from the women’s protection agreement. In: tagesschau.de . ARD , March 20, 2021, accessed on March 21, 2021 .
    20. ^ Zeit Online, Turkey withdraws from Istanbul Convention against Violence against Women , March 20, 2021
    21. Turkey officially withdrew from the Istanbul Convention despite loud protests. Der Standard , July 1, 2021, accessed on the same day.
    Remarks
    1. Including the five non-Council of Europe contracting states : Japan , Canada , Mexico , Vatican City and the United States .
    2. The first is the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (also Convention of Belém do Pará ) from 1994, in German, the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Elimination of Violence against Women '. For more information, see the Organization of American States website : Overview and Inter-American Commission of Women .