Amnesty International on Thursday condemned the Latvian government’s decision to leave the Council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention. The statement warned that this move, which comes amid anti-rights groups’ attempted demonization of the idea of gender equality, sets a dangerous precedent and risks dismantling essential legal protections for the most vulnerable.
Amnesty International’s senior campaigner on women’s rights, Monica Costa Riba, commented on the severity of Latvia’s withdrawal from the Convention, stating: “We urge the President of Latvia to do the right thing and use his veto to stop Latvia’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention and advance measures to ensure its full implementation to protect women and girls from gender-based and domestic violence.”
After an intense and heated 13-hour debate, Latvian MPs voted by 56 to 32 to withdraw from the Convention, with the bill now awaiting the President’s decision to either veto or sign it into law. The bill was introduced in Parliament in September and was met with fierce scrutiny from women’s rights organizations, who argue that Latvia’s withdrawal is reflective of a deliberate rejection of international safeguards and erodes institutional accountability.
Conservative and right-wing groups have long asserted that the treaty promotes “gender theories” and encourages sexual experimentation, which directly harms children and undermines family values. However, these claims have been held to be unjustified and unfounded, with the Latvian Constitutional Court in 2021 finding that Article 3(c), Article 4(3), and Article 12(1) of the Istanbul Convention comply with the spirit of the Latvian constitution. The Court also stipulated that the scope of the Istanbul Convention only serves to prohibit the perpetration of violence against women and domestic violence, with no provisions imposing acceptance or introduction of any specific form of marriage or family.
Although judicial direction and community consensus highlighted the importance of Latvia’s ascension to the Istanbul Convention, critics say the government’s decision to withdraw is appalling given the stark reality of gender-based violence in the country. According to a 2023-2024 study conducted by the European Institute for Gender Equality, more than four out of five victims of intimate partner violence were women, with women representing all victims of intimate partner homicide and constituting 93 percent of rape victims, showcasing how women are disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence. Around nine months before Latvia had officially ratified and acceded to the Istanbul Convention, police figures indicated that more women were becoming prone to stalking, with data showing that the number had jumped by nearly 60 percent, whereas an increase of 93 percent in threats of murder or grievous bodily harm against women was observed.
Critics note that Latvia’s withdrawal is the latest move in a deeply troubling, regressive trend of nations abandoning the Istanbul Convention, a pattern set into motion by Turkey’s 2021 departure. As of present, there are no specific legal provisions in the Latvian Criminal Procedure that specifically provide for the criminalization of violence against women, illustrating the gravity of this development.
