By virtue of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), parties are required to set up or designate one or more official bodies with the responsibility of ensuring the Convention's implementation at national level (Article 10). This entails:

• coordinating any existing or new national policies and measures to combat violence against women,
• implementing such measures, and
• ensuring their monitoring and evaluation at national level to assess any positive and negative outcomes.

In 2023, a publication was released providing:

• guidance to set up official co-ordinating bodies
• advice on the implementation of Article 10
• an overview of different national approaches followed to designate or establish such bodies, including promising practices
• guidance to policy makers and relevant professionals on designing evidence-based policies, co-ordinating the implementation of policies across sectors, as well as ensuring the monitoring and independent evaluation of policies on violence against women.
• information on the importance of ensuring the allocation of adequate resources, the development of clear mandates for these bodies, and the use of efficient working methods, based on the promotion of inter-institutional co-ordination, co operation with non-governmental organisations, and the implementation of a gender-sensitive and intersectional approach to policy making.
• a checklist for setting up co-ordinating bodies in line with the requirements of Article 10, the general principles of the Istanbul Convention, and GREVIO’s findings, as well as a list of key resources for further guidance.

All parties are requested to communicate the names and contact details of the bodies that have been mandated to fulfil these tasks.

List of co-ordinating bodies (bilingual)