On Wednesday, the Saeima Foreign Affairs Commission decided to send the bill on Latvia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, or the Istanbul Convention, for a second and final reading.
Seventeen proposals were submitted for the second reading of the bill, all of which were rejected.
Among them was a proposal by MP Jana Simanovska (“Progressives”) that tasked the Cabinet of Ministers with preparing and presenting to the Saeima by February 1, 2026, an assessment of the legal status of the Latvian declaration attached to the Istanbul Convention, as well as the practice of applying declarations by other states.
MP Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica (“New Unity”) explained that this is important because there is an opinion that the declaration attached to the convention has no legal force. She stated that this is not the case.
The Latvian Council of Creative Unions and the “Marta” center requested to speak at the meeting of the Commission, which was opposed by the chair of the commission and opposition MPs, resulting in the organizations not being given the opportunity to express their views.
As stated by the chair of the commission, Ināra Mūrniece (National Alliance), the Istanbul Convention was a political deal made during the formation of Prime Minister Evika Siliņa’s (“New Unity”) government, which is now clearly falling apart.
Coalition MPs suggested not to rush into denouncing the convention.
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