A Roundtable on ratification of the Istanbul Convention in Ukraine was held on 14 May 2021, as a joint initiative of the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine. More than 120 representatives of central and local authorities, the Council of Europe, international organisations, non-governmental organisations and the media attended the event.
Bjorn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, noted that:
“While national efforts should always be welcome, there is no substitute for a multilateral approach to what remains an appalling and universal problem. At its core, violence against women is a fundamental human rights issue. The standards that it sets out for the protection of women are higher than national laws in many countries, including Ukraine.” He added, “I am very pleased that various co-operation activities are ongoing between the Council of Europe and Ukrainian authorities and that these have sought to raise awareness and understanding of the Istanbul Convention, including the ongoing project “Combating Violence against Women in Ukraine”. Certainly, it is our hope that Ukraine will be one of the next member states to join this landmark Convention, in the interests of all its citizens. And the Council of Europe will be there to support you in taking and implementing this important step.”
Olga Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister stressed the importance of a broad public debate on the ratification of the Convention, which intensifies further cooperation of all institutions to combat domestic violence. Olena Kondratyuk, Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine noted that the parliamentary leadership is ready to support consideration of the ratification of the Istanbul Convention as soon as the official text of the document is submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.
Anka Feldhusen, Ambassador of Germany to Ukraine, representative of the country-chair in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, emphasised that the Istanbul Convention is one of the most important issues for Germany's Chairmanship in the Committee of Ministers. Maria Mezentseva, Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration to the European Union, head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, emphasised that ratification of the Istanbul Convention is a strategically important task for parliamentarians and for this purpose MPs, representatives of central state executive bodies and society need to unite. On behalf of the Ukrainian delegation to the PACE, she thanked the Council of Europe for its expert and methodological support and training for MPs.
Further information on the Round Table, including quotations from 11 additional speakers and a video of the event, can be found on the CoE Kiev webpage.
#CoeCOVAW #Istanbulconvention
