Latvian Parliament votes to withdraw from domestic violence treaty

WARSAW, Poland (AP) – The Latvian Parliament voted Thursday to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, a treaty aimed at supporting women who are victims of violence, after a 13-hour session of intense debate.

The Council of Europe treaty entered into force in Latvia in 2024 and is meant to standardize support for women who are victims of violence, including domestic abuse. However, ultra-conservative groups and political parties across Europe have criticized the treaty, arguing that it promotes “gender ideology,” encourages sexual experimentation and harms children.

In September, opposition lawmakers in Latvia initiated a process to potentially withdraw from the treaty. They were joined by the Union of Greens and Farmers, an agrarian alliance member of the tripartite governing coalition, which also includes the center-right party of Prime Minister Evika Siliņa and a center-left one.

Siliņa, whose coalition government came to power in 2023 with a promise to ratify the convention, has criticized the efforts to withdraw from the treaty. “Those who have been brave enough to seek help are now witnessing their experiences being used for political battles,” Siliņa wrote on social platform X in October. “It is cruel.”

The alliance between opposition and governing lawmakers in support of withdrawal highlights cracks in the governing coalition ahead of the next parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place in the fall of 2026.

“This decision not only endangers women and girls in Latvia, it emboldens anti-human rights movements across Europe and Central Asia, and supports authoritarian tendencies of governments moving away from the rule of law, international justice and democratic values,” Tamar Dekanosidze from international women’s rights organization Equality Now said in response to the vote.

Around 5,000 people protested outside the Parliament in Riga on Wednesday night against withdrawal from the treaty, according to the Baltic News Service. Approximately 20 people also rallied in favor of withdrawal Thursday.

Following Thursday’s vote in the parliament, President Edgars Rinkēvičs is expected to review the law. Rinkēvičs has several options, including returning the law to Parliament for reassessment or, under specific circumstances, triggering a referendum.