Back Informal exchange of views between member states and civil society representatives

Informal exchange of views between member states and civil society representatives

At an informal meeting on 20 November 2024, delegations from the Council of Europe’s 46 member states held an exchange of views with representatives of civil society on “Promoting ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention”.

The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) entered into force ten years ago. Ratified by 38 member states of the Council of Europe and the European Union, it is the most far-reaching legal instrument for the protection of women and girls from violence. The exchange underlined the crucial role of civil society, in particular women’s rights organisations, in advocating for the convention’s ratification and implementation, as well as the contribution they make in providing specialist support services and counselling to women and girls exposed to the different forms of violence covered by the Istanbul Convention.

The exchange of views forms part of the Secretary General’s follow-up to the decision taken by the Committee of Ministers in 2019 to protect and promote civil society more effectively by improving the participation of civil society organisations in the Council of Europe’s work.

It also responded to the Committee of Ministers’ call for action to promote further ratifications of the Istanbul Convention by member and non-member states, one year after the adoption of the Reykjavík Declaration at the 4th Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government (Reykjavík, Iceland, 16-17 May 2023).

 

 
COUNCIL OF EUROPE STRASBOURG 21 NOVEMBER 2024
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The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation, with 46 member states, including Armenia. All our member states are party to the European Convention on Human Rights, which is the cornerstone of human rights protection in Europe.

The Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, represents the Secretary General in Armenia. It closely co-operates with national authorities supporting the implementation of statutory obligations to the Council of Europe by Armenia through co-operation projects.


 

The Council of Europe works for you. We want to give visibility to the role, standards and work of the Council of Europe in its member states, to show how Council of Europe membership has helped achieve particular results or changes. Our aim, through a variety of events and actions, is to highlight ways in which the Council of Europe’s action has helped improve the life of individuals and contributed to improving people’s enjoyment of fundamental rights.

Whether it is the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights at national level, or the Council of Europe's work in many fields, such as working to abolish the death penalty or to ensure freedom of expression and freedom of the media, or to adress online and technology-facilitated violence against women through the Istanbul Convention and Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, the Council of Europe has achieved a lot since 1949. View achievements »