AUCCRO calls on Rada not to ratify Istanbul Convention during war

The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations has appealed to the Ukrainian parliament to postpone consideration of the Istanbul Convention during the war, reports the official website of the AUCCRO.

AUCCRO members initiated an appeal to the Verkhovna Rada in connection with the fact that the ratification of the Istanbul Convention is on the agenda of the Parliament on Monday, June 20.

"Attempts to ratify the Istanbul Convention in wartime conditions and the presence of opposing views in society on this initiative will only provoke a new wave of public protests, discontent, and criticism of the Ukrainian leadership. And this is at the time when our state needs unity, cohesion, consolidation of efforts of all public institutions in order to win the war against the Russian aggressor," the statement says.

It is noteworthy that along with norms aimed at combating domestic violence, the Istanbul Convention introduces the concept of "gender" as an ideological concept of a person's self-identification. The religious communities of Ukraine cannot agree with this, because ignoring the fact of biological sexes characterizing a woman or a man and the associated obligation to teach children non-stereotypical gender roles carries the threat of a distortion of the younger generation of their gender identity, the popularization of same-sex sexual relations and the spread of gender dysphoria among children and young people.

"Taking into account the dangers of gender ideology, instead of ratifying the Istanbul Convention AUCCRO calls to take practical measures and develop national legislation to combat domestic violence and violence against women, as do other European countries, which also refused to ratify this convention - UK, Latvia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Armenia and Turkey, which denounced the ratification of the Istanbul Convention," states the Council of Churches. 

The clerics urge the Chairman of the Parliament and parliamentarians to prevent the escalation of tensions and a split in Ukrainian society, namely to "remove the issue of ratification of the Istanbul Convention as requiring further public discussion and the search for a public consensus”.

As earlier reported, Ukrainian MPs supported the PACE gender resolution.

Read also