The Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday conceptually supported the proposal for Latvia to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, forwarding it for consideration at the parliamentary session on October 23.
On Wednesday, the members of the commission began a political discussion after hearing the opinions of representatives from ministries and non-governmental organizations.
Deputy Ramona Petraviča (“Latvia First”), responding to questions from commission members on behalf of the initiative's authors, explained that its goal is to denounce the Istanbul Convention. According to Petraviča, if the convention remains in force, Latvia must ensure the implementation of "socially constructed gender" in education and culture. She stated that children would need to be taught from kindergarten what socially constructed gender is, and if the convention is denounced, then, according to the deputy, "we will be responsible for the content of education ourselves."
Deputy Edmunds Cepurītis from the “Progressives” pointed out that the initiative would lead to a narrowing of human rights. Petraviča responded that human rights in Latvia are protected by the Constitution, not the Istanbul Convention.
Cepurītis referred to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that leaving the convention would harm Latvia's international reputation and asked what measures are planned to prevent this. Petraviča replied that individual deputies cause more harm by "bringing internal politics outside," adding that Latvia is a sovereign country that makes its own decisions, and referencing the influence of Russian disinformation is a straw to grasp at when there are no other arguments.
Deputy Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica from “New Unity” asked whether the authors of the initiative plan to withdraw from other international treaties that mention the term "gender," in particular, several conventions, as well as to refuse obligations under them. Petraviča replied that a bill on withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention is currently being considered, and other issues will be assessed as they arise.
Kalniņa-Lukaševica reminded about a letter from the Council of Foreign Investors stating that Latvia's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention would negatively impact the economy. She asked what the authors of the proposal believe the impact of the bill will be on the state budget and the national economy, to which Petraviča replied that this is not about the economy, but about values.
Referring to the Regulations of the Saeima, Kalniņa-Lukaševica proposed to request the opinion of the Minister of Finance on the impact of the bill on the national economy, but the commission members rejected this proposal.
The first reading of the bill is scheduled for Thursday, October 23, and the second reading a week later, on October 30.
As reported, on September 25, the Saeima referred the opposition's proposal to denounce the Istanbul Convention to the Foreign Affairs Committee, which would mean Latvia's withdrawal from it. Along with the opposition, deputies from the coalition Union of Greens and Farmers also voted for this proposal, leading to instability in the ruling coalition, as the other partners viewed this as a violation of the coalition agreement.
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