Government to decide on ratification of Istanbul Convention

RIGA - The coalition has agreed to put the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on the agenda of this Tuesday's government meeting, Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity) told journalists after the weekly coalition meeting on Monday. 

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, the so-called Istanbul Convention, will be proposed for ratification with a reference to the Latvian Constitution, Silina said, assuring that the ratification of the convention will by no means contravene the Constitution. 

Also this week, the Saeima will start reviewing draft legislation on civil partnerships proposed by the Justice Ministry, the prime minister said. 

This will fulfil the agreement reached by the coalition to bring forward a number of legislative initiatives by the end of the year.

Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens (Progressives) welcomed the coalition's agreement to move towards the ratification of the Istanbul Convention and the adoption of the civil partnership regulation by the end of this year. The text of the convention will be ratified as it stands in the Council of Europe framework, but the Progressives respect their coalition partners' wish to add an explanatory note to the declaration, Briskens said, adding that most importantly, progress is now being made towards the European way of opposing all forms of violence against women.

Former welfare minister Janis Reirs (New Unity) signed the Istanbul Convention on behalf of Latvia in 2016 in Sofia, Bulgaria, but the document still has to be ratified by the Saeima.