Latvia takes a step toward de-ratifying Istanbul Convention

Latvian Saeima. Photo: LSM

The Saeima of Latvia has voted to forward to the Foreign Affairs Committee a bill proposing the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention – the Council of Europe’s international agreement on preventing violence against women and domestic violence. The initiative, which has been criticized for promoting gender ideology, received 55 votes in favor and 33 against.

The bill was introduced by opposition parties Latvia First, the National Alliance, the United List, and Stability!. Unexpectedly, the coalition party Union of Greens and Farmers supported the initiative, sparking a political scandal.

Latvia ratified the Istanbul Convention in November 2023, and it entered into force on May 1, 2024. Its signing had already provoked mass protests back in 2016, and again in November 2023, when thousands took to the streets of Riga to oppose ratification.

MP Linda Liepiņa (Latvia First), who had backed ratification two years earlier, has now railed against the convention:

“Two years have passed since the adoption of the Istanbul Convention. And what exactly are the reduced violence rates as a result of the adoption of the Istanbul Convention? I don't see it. What I see is how a foreign ideology is creeping into our everyday lives. I see how common sense and balance are disappearing, how the abnormal is being made normal, that we demand that teachers teach what they don't believe in, that we are starting to evaluate whether songs about fathers and mothers are appropriate for our song festivals, that we are calling on children to dress in clothes of the opposite sex, that it is more important for us to study gender benders than to address issues of importance to our nation's existence.”

Her party colleague Mārcis Jencītis called the convention a “Trojan horse”:

“Should we go crazy just because Europe is going crazy? When I was in primary school, my teacher once said to me, when I had done something wrong and was making excuses that others were doing the same thing: 'If everyone ran their heads into a wall, would you run too?' Today I ask you the same question.”

Opponents of the Istanbul Convention point to the vague definition of “gender,” which, in their view, opens the way to promoting LGBT ideology and the concept of “multiple genders” through educational institutions. Critics also argue that the document calls for transforming the structure of society in all spheres of life – culture, education, social norms, customs, and traditions, thereby intruding into citizens’ private and family lives.

The Latvian Ministry of Justice had earlier voiced opposition to the convention, warning that it posed a threat to the country’s Constitution. Five EU member states – Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Slovakia – have not ratified the Istanbul Convention. Poland has also taken steps toward withdrawal, citing attempts to impose gender ideology on society.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that Ukraine has completed ratification of the Istanbul Convention. A petition demanding its repeal gathered the required 25,000 signatures, but President Zelensky refused to withdraw from it.

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