Today, the Committee of the Parties to the Istanbul Convention issued a declaration expressing the will and determination of the States parties to stand by the standards of the Istanbul Convention as a source of guidance for governmental action during the outbreak of the current pandemic of COVID-19. Following the alarming increase in the number of recorded cases of violence against women and/or domestic violence provoked by the pandemic worldwide and in numerous Council of Europe member states, the declaration states the relevance of the principles and requirements of the Istanbul Convention in the areas of prevention, protection, prosecution and integrated policies under the current exceptional circumstances.
The Committee of the Parties adopted the declaration, in its role as the intergovernmental body mandated to uphold the standards of the Istanbul Convention, and to ensure their implementation by States parties at all times.
