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Reply to Written question | Doc. 13876 | 23 September 2015
Combating violence against women through the Istanbul Convention
1. The Council of
Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against
Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) provides a unique
legal framework at the international level to combat the scourge
of violence against women. Therefore, the Committee of Ministers
strongly supports its signature and ratification by the largest
possible number of States. Since its opening for signature in 2011,
a number of national, regional and global events have been organised
to promote the Istanbul Convention. These events were instrumental
to the entry into force of the Convention.
2. In this regard, the Committee of Ministers is pleased to note
that the number of member States which ratified the Istanbul Convention
continues to grow, in particular with recent ratifications by Finland,
Poland and Slovenia. Several other member States are actively preparing
for signature and/or ratification in the near future.
3. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Chairmanship of the Committee of
Ministers will organise a high-level conference on 20 October 2015,
in Sarajevo, which will be dedicated to the monitoring of the implementation of
the Istanbul Convention. This conference will provide an opportunity
to engage in a reflection process on new synergies at different
levels (including at government and parliamentary levels) and an
occasion for further promoting the Convention amongst key stakeholders
in member States.
4. As is the case for other conventions, monitoring compliance
of commitments taken by States parties to the Convention will contribute
to the effective implementation of the Convention’s provisions.
The Committee of the Parties of the Istanbul Convention held its
first meeting in May 2015 and elected the first 10 members of the
Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic
Violence (GREVIO). GREVIO will hold its first meeting on 21 to 23
September 2015 and is expected to start its first round of monitoring
in early 2016.
5. While the current priority is the establishment and effective
operation of the monitoring mechanism of the Istanbul Convention,
efforts are continuing to promote the Convention and support its
wide ratification, in particular in the context of co-operation
programmes with member States.