24/02/2010 Equality and Non-Discrimination
24 February 2010
4th meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, (CAHVIO)
Strasbourg, 22-24 February 2010
Statement by Mr José Mendes Bota (Portugal, EPP/CD), Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men and PACE Rapporteur on
Combating violence against women: towards a Council of Europe convention
Combating violence against women: José Mendes Bota calls for demanding European standards
The progress achieved in the work of the Expert Committee in charge of drafting the Council of Europe convention to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence is encouraging, but the Parliamentary Assembly remains mobilised to ensure that the future convention lays down demanding standards concerning the protection of victims, the prosecution of perpetrators and prevention. I call on my fellow parliamentarians and also on the representatives of Council of Europe member states, local and regional authorities and non-governmental organisations participating in the discussions to keep in mind the ultimate aim of this convention: respect for the human rights of victims of gender based violence and domestic violence, whatever their status.
The recent initiatives launched by the Spanish presidency of the European Union and the European Parliament's proposals for reinforcing measures to combat violence against women are to be welcomed. They reflect the common focus of our activities and our determination no longer to tolerate acts of violence against women deriving from unequal relations between the genders. However, under no circumstances should any new legal instruments that may be developed by the European Union duplicate Council of Europe instruments or result in less demanding standards. From this standpoint co-operation between the Council of Europe and the European Union is essential to ensure that our joint efforts result in the establishment of a common legal area affording effective protection to female victims of violence. In this connection, I would like the European Union to clarify as soon as possible its position regarding the implications of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon and the EU's contribution to the drafting and implementation of the future Council of Europe convention.
The convention must be a vigorous legal instrument at the service of Europe's 800 million inhabitants. The establishment of a parliamentary mechanism to monitor the convention's implementation by the Parties would constitute a trailblazing major democratic advance. The Parliamentary Assembly strongly committed itself to the Council of Europe campaign "Stop domestic violence against women" (2006-2008), the principal outcome of which was the launch of the drafting of the convention. The Assembly now intends to remain proactive to secure the adoption of a convention incorporating demanding standards, ensure that it is ratified by the largest possible number of Council of Europe member states and have its implementation guaranteed by a strong, independent monitoring mechanism with the necessary human and financial resources at its disposal.