According to multiple reports, Turkey withdrew from an international agreement to protect women from violence.
Turkey has abandoned the Istanbul Convention, Bloomberg News reported, citing a decree published in the nation’s official journal. The convention is a convention of the Council of Europe that aims to prevent violence and domestic violence against women.
The convention has a total of 46 signatories, she says website, including 45 countries and the European Union. Turkey signed the treaty in 2011 and ratified it in 2012.
The Council of Europe General Secretary Marija Pejčinović Burić said in a statement that the The Istanbul Convention covers 34 European countries and is widely regarded as the gold standard in international efforts to protect women and girls from the violence they face every day in our societies. ”
“This move is a huge setback to these efforts and all the more regrettable as it endangers the protection of women in Turkey, across Europe and beyond,” said Burić.
The statement in the Official Gazette gave no reason why Turkey left the convention. However, Reuters reported that it divided President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party and his family.
Conservatives in Turkey also believed that the accord undermined family structures and that non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation promoted homosexuality, Reuters noted.
The United Nations office in Turkey said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” about Turkey’s decision and added that it urged Turkey to “continue to protect and promote the safety and rights of all women and girls, including through its continued commitment to the full implementation of the Convention from Istanbul. “