Latvia’s parliament votes to quit controversial Istanbul Convention on violence against women

Latvia’s parliament voted on Thursday to withdraw from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, an international treaty designed to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence, after a conservative partner in the ruling coalition defied the prime minister and president to force the move. Latvia had ratified the convention only in 2023.

The decision makes Latvia the second country – after Turkey in 2021 – to exit the treaty and highlights deep divisions across Europe over its provisions, particularly its definition of gender as a social construct rather than strictly biological sex.

The Istanbul Convention, opened for signature in Istanbul in 2011 and entering into force in 2014, obliges states to address gender-based violence through prevention, protection, prosecution, and coordinated policies. While most EU member states have signed and ratified it, several have resisted or reversed course due to domestic backlash from conservative, religious, and nationalist groups who argue the treaty promotes “gender ideology” and undermines traditional family structures.

In Bulgaria, the Constitutional Court ruled in 2018 that the convention’s definition of gender was incompatible with the country’s constitution, effectively blocking ratification.

Similarly, Hungary has signed but not ratified the treaty, with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government labelling it ideologically driven.

Slovakia’s parliament rejected ratification in 2020, and the Czech Republic’s lower house narrowly failed to approve it in 2024 despite government support.

Poland’s previous Law and Justice government initiated withdrawal proceedings in 2020 but the process was halted after Donald Tusk’s centrist coalition took power in 2023 and formally canceled the plans last year.

Latvian opponents echoed these concerns.

“This will not influence domestic violence in any way. Protections against domestic violence were in Latvian law even before the Istanbul Convention,” said Gunars Gutris, an MP from the Greens and Farmers Union, one of three coalition parties that broke ranks with Prime Minister Evika Silina to join the opposition and secure withdrawal by 56 votes in the 100-seat parliament.

Critics in Latvia and elsewhere maintain that national legislation already adequately addresses violence against women and that the convention’s broader social gender framework is unnecessary or culturally alien.

The vote triggered immediate backlash. Around 5,000 people protested in central Riga on Wednesday against the withdrawal, according to public broadcaster LSM. Prime Minister Silina addressed the crowd, reaffirming her support for remaining in the treaty.

“This will be a devastating blow to Latvia’s standing in the European Union, as well as internationally,” warned Andris Suvajevs, chair of the parliamentary group of the liberal Progressive party within the governing coalition.

The EU signed and ratified the Istanbul Convention in 2023 to collectively combat violence against women within its competencies, binding all member states—including non-ratifying ones like Bulgaria, Hungary, and now-withdrawing Latvia—to align with EU-level obligations despite national resistance.

With Reuters, edited by g.g.

Caption: Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina attends a joint press conference with the Lithuanian prime minister after their meeting in Riga, Latvia, 30 October 2025. The Lithuanian prime minister is on a one-day working visit to Latvia. EPA/TOMS KALNINS