Latvia - November 2023

The Parliament narrowly voted to ratify the Istanbul Convention, approving legislation introduced by the Ministry of Welfare with the support of 51 of 100 MPs. As a party to the Istanbul Convention, a Council of Europe treaty, the Latvian government is required to develop policies to prevent violence against women and domestic violence, provide protection and support to victims, and step up cooperation with institutions such as civil society and the media. Ratification had been held up in Parliament over the Convention’s use of the term “social gender,” which conservative MPs linked with ideological debates on gender identity. In response, MPs endorsed a declaration parallel to the law on ratification stating that this phrase does not require Latvia’s legal and educational systems to adopt “any other understanding of gender”. Incidents of gender-based violence this year spurred renewed calls for ratification, including a woman’s murder by her ex-partner in Jēkabpils in April.

Sources: LSM (1), LSM (2), Saeima (1), Saeima (2), Saeima (3), Saeima (4), Council of Europe, LRT, Baltic Times, Likumi