Print
See related documents
Resolution 1861 (2012) Final version
Promoting the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence
1. Violence against women is a serious
crime, a form of discrimination and a human rights violation which impairs
or makes the enjoyment of other human rights impossible. It also
makes equal opportunities for women and men impossible to achieve.
2. The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating
Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (CETS No. 210) is the
most far-reaching binding instrument providing a comprehensive framework
to prevent violence against women, protect its victims, prosecute
the perpetrators and set up a wide range of measures to address
this scourge in all its complexity.
3. The Parliamentary Assembly commends the convention for the
strong political message that it conveys, namely that changes in
mentality should be promoted in society, with a view to eradicating
prejudices which are based on the so-called “inferiority” of women
or on the stereotyped roles of women and men; that States have a
responsibility to prevent, stop and sanction violence against women,
whether it happens in the family or outside; and that violence against
women can never be justified or excused on the basis of any cultural, historical
or religious argument.
4. In addition, the Assembly praises the convention as a legal
instrument setting high and progressive standards, particularly
as regards its broad personal and material scope, its victim-centred
approach, the obligation of criminalisation, effective investigation
and prosecution of the forms of violence covered by the convention,
and its strong, independent and innovative monitoring mechanism.
5. The Assembly is convinced that the Council of Europe Convention
on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic
Violence can save and change the lives of millions of people and
make a tangible contribution to improving the respect of human rights
and the status of women in Europe and beyond.
6. For this to happen, however, the convention needs to be signed
and ratified by a sufficient number of Council of Europe member
States to enable it to enter into force; subsequently, it needs
to be signed and ratified to by as many States as possible and effectively
implemented.
7. While welcoming the ratification of the convention by the
Turkish Parliament, which symbolically took place on the eve of
the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
on 24 November 2011, the Assembly calls on the other Council of
Europe member States which have signed the convention – Albania, Austria,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Montenegro,
Norway, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
“the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and Ukraine – to take prompt
measures, if necessary relying on the advice and expertise provided
by the Council of Europe, to adapt their national legislation to
the convention and accelerate the ratification process.
8. The Assembly also calls on the Council of Europe member States
which have not yet signed the convention to do so and rapidly proceed
to ratification.
9. It also asks the Council of Europe member States to:
9.1. refrain from making reservations
to the convention;
9.2. apply the convention not only to women but also to other
victims of domestic violence, under Article 2.2;
9.3. organise awareness-raising campaigns to enhance the knowledge
of the phenomenon of violence against women in society at large;
9.4. support activities aimed at providing information about
the convention, including ensuring its translation into national
languages;
9.5. make voluntary contributions in support of the work undertaken
by the Council of Europe to promote the convention and facilitate
its signature and ratification.
10. As regards the potential impact of the convention beyond the
member States of the Council of Europe, the Assembly:
10.1. encourages the United Nations
Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), in the light of their universal
outreach capacity and their commitment to the eradication of violence
against women, to promote the convention as an instrument which
could be acceded to also by non-Council of Europe member States,
or which could inspire the strengthening of national legal frameworks;
10.2. encourages other regional parliamentary assemblies to
take a similar position;
10.3. calls on Council of Europe observer States and the European
Union to sign and ratify the convention;
10.4. encourages the parliaments enjoying the status of partner
for democracy to promote accession to the convention by their respective
States.
11. Expressing appreciation for the work accomplished by non-governmental
organisations in a wide range of activities aimed at preventing
violence against women and assisting its victims, the Assembly encourages them
to pursue their work to promote the signature and ratification of
the convention and resolves to work in close co-operation with them.
12. The Assembly calls on the parliaments of the Council of Europe
member States to:
12.1. urge their
governments to sign the convention;
12.2. organise or promote parliamentary debates and hearings
on the convention;
12.3. play a proactive role in the context of the ratification
process;
12.4. promote and conduct activities to raise awareness about
the convention among the general public, practitioners, non-governmental
organisations and civil society.
13. As regards its own work, the Assembly:
13.1. decides to enlarge the network of contact parliamentarians
committed to combating violence against women to include also contact
parliamentarians appointed by the parliaments enjoying the status
of partner for democracy;
13.2. welcomes the decision taken by the Committee on Equality
and Non-Discrimination to appoint a general rapporteur on violence
against women, and believes that such a step will contribute to
enhancing the visibility and relevance of the Assembly’s work in
this area.
14. Finally, the Assembly calls on the Secretary General of the
Council of Europe to appoint a Council of Europe special envoy on
gender equality, to continue to provide political impetus to the
Council of Europe’s work in this area, ensure the visibility of
the Organisation at the highest political level and represent it
with relevant high-level external interlocutors.