The Parliamentary Assembly’s high level panel and debate on 23 June 2021 “The Istanbul Convention: 10 years on”, and its engagement with the UN Generation Equality Forum (Paris, 29 June-2 July 2021), were two milestone events marking a decade of action around the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), the groundbreaking international legal instrument which sets out the right of women to live free from violence as a human right.
In Strasbourg, speakers reconfirmed their support for the Istanbul Convention, called for ratification and efficient implementation and undertook to counter misconceptions. Action must now be stepped up and strengthened to combat violence against women, in particular in view of current challenges and backsliding observed in some countries.
The Convention’s Article 70 foresees a role for parliamentarians in monitoring at national level, and regular stock-taking of implementation by the Assembly. Following its 2019 debate on “The Istanbul Convention on violence against women: achievements and challenges”, the Assembly should prepare a new report under the leadership of the General Rapporteur on violence against women and supported by the Parliamentary Network Women Free from Violence. It should provide examples of promising practice based on experience of Assembly members and evaluation reports by the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO).