21/11/2025 Standing Committee
PACE’s Standing Committee, meeting in Chisinau, held a current affairs debate on “Citizens’ mobilisation in the defence of human rights and democracy: recent developments in Latvia”, focusing on the unprecedented public mobilisation that followed the attempt to withdraw Latvia from the Istanbul Convention.
Opening the debate, Edmunds Cepurītis (Latvia, SOC) described how the vote to withdraw “was fast-tracked, never justified by facts, and condemned by civil society”, stressing that “this should not have happened”.
He highlighted that more than 70,000 signatures were collected within days, “4% of our population”, making it one of the most popular initiatives ever, and demonstrating that “a strong civic society is a strong safeguard for human rights systems.”
Addressing the Standing Committee, Beata Jonīte, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the MARTA Centre, said that Latvians “made history”, noting that 10 to 15,000 people took to the streets. She stressed that the attempted withdrawal was not based on policy arguments but on “a reckless move to emotionally divide our society and bolster individual political ambitions”.
She explained how four national protests, rapid signature campaigns and a surge in online civic engagement forced political actors to reconsider. “This was not just about the convention, but about where we are heading as a country. Are we heading towards populism and ignorance or remaining on the course of human rights values?”.
Several PACE members participated in the debate. A current affairs debate gives rise to no text, and no vote is taken.