Czech Republic rejects Istanbul Convention over gender ideology

Czech Republic. Photo: Czechia Online

The government of the Czech Republic has reversed the decision of the previous cabinet of ministers to continue the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, thereby officially concluding the process of its consideration at the governmental level. This is reported by the Czech outlet iROZHLAS.

The matter concerns the annulment of a resolution adopted in June 2023 by the government of Petr Fiala, which provided for the further advancement of the ratification procedure of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention.

As the outlet notes, the current government decision was adopted without a separate press release and was not discussed publicly at press conferences. Its contents became known after the document was published by journalists.

The decision was a continuation of the position of the Czech Senate, which as early as January 24, 2024, did not support the ratification of the convention. At that time, the document failed to receive the required majority of votes.

During the debate, senators who opposed ratification stated that the document contains ideological provisions that go beyond the scope of combating violence. In particular, Senator Zdeněk Hraba called the convention an «ideological document,» while Deputy Chairman of the Senate Jiří Oberfalzer drew attention to the fact that the text repeatedly uses the concept of «gender» instead of biological sex.

Opponents of the document also point to Article 12 of the Convention, which obliges states to take measures to eradicate stereotypical roles of men and women. In their view, this promotes the introduction of the concept of gender as a social construct independent of biological sex.

As an alternative, the Polish Ordo Iuris Institute has developed a draft Convention on the Rights of the Family. The document provides for the protection of the family as the fundamental unit of society, defines marriage as a union of a man and a woman, and, in the opinion of its authors, contains no ideological provisions related to gender theory.

The Istanbul Convention was adopted by the Council of Europe in 2011 and is ostensibly aimed at preventing violence against women and domestic violence. At the same time, in a number of European countries it has sparked debate due to the use of the concept of «gender» and related provisions.

As the Union of Orthodox Journalists reported, the President of Poland vetoed laws on same-sex marriages.

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