The bill on Latvia leaving the Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women will be sent to the parliament for reconsideration, the country’s president Edgars Rinkēvičs said in a press release on Monday.
“There is no dispute that the Saeima [...] may decide to withdraw from an international agreement in accordance with the relevant procedure. Unfortunately, it must be concluded that the necessary preparatory work has not been done to justify such a withdrawal," he said in a letter sent to the speaker of the parliament, according to the president’s office press release.
According to the press release, significant questions remain unanswered that need to be considered in the second review of the bill.
The parliament should also first pass a law on eradicating violence against women and children before withdrawing the Convention that deals with the same issue.
“Withdrawing before this process is completed creates a dangerous gap in the overall legal framework for combating violence against women and domestic violence, contradicting the repeatedly stated argument that national legislation alone is sufficient to address these issues,” said Rinkēvičs.
Latvia’s parliament voted last week to leave the Istanbul Convention, a treaty aimed at preventing violence against women and domestic violence, which it ratified in November 2023.
The withdrawal was put forward by the opposition right-wing Latvia First party last month. The motion passed its first reading in the parliament after gathering support among MPs in the ruling coalition.
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MPs calling for the withdrawal say the convention is aiming to bring forward so-called “social gender” norms. However, human rights advocates and critics allege populism amid the upcoming parliamentary elections next year.
The president also previously told reporters that the parties have begun campaigning for the elections by denouncing the Istanbul Convention.
The parliament will now have to decide on the timeframe to consider amendments to the bill before again holding a vote.
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