🔗 Share this article

Protesters gathered outside the legislative building this week

The Baltic nation's parliament members have voted to pull out from an global treaty designed to protect women from abuse, including domestic abuse, following prolonged and heated debates in the legislature.

Several thousand of demonstrators gathered in the capital this past week to voice disagreement with the vote. The final authority now rests with President the nation's president, who must decide whether to approve or veto the proposed law.

Referred to as the European treaty, the international accord only took effect in the Baltic state last twelve months ago, requiring authorities to establish laws and assistance programs to end all types of abuse.

Latvia has become the first EU country to initiate the procedure of withdrawing from the convention. Turkey pulled out in 2021, a decision that human rights organizations characterized as a significant regression for gender equality.

Ideological Controversy and Resistance

The treaty was ratified by the European Union in last year, yet conservative factions have contended that its emphasis on gender equality weakens family values and advances what they term "non-traditional gender concepts".

Following a thirteen-hour discussion in the Saeima, MPs decided 56 to 32 to exit from the convention, a action sponsored by political opponents but supported by representatives from one of the three coalition parties.

The result represents a setback for centre-right Prime Minister the nation's PM, who joined demonstrators outside the legislature earlier this week. "We refuse to give up, we will persist in our struggle so that violence will not prevail," she stated to the assembly.

Political Divisions and Responses

One of the primary parties advocating for the exit is Latvia First, whose head has called on the public to select from what he terms a "natural family" and "non-binary concepts with multiple sexes".

Latvia's ombudswoman the rights official appealed for the treaty not to be politicized, while the organization Equality Now asserted it was "not a threat to Latvian values, it was an instrument to realize them".

The Thursday's decision has provoked widespread outcry both inside Latvia and internationally.

22,000 individuals have endorsed a national petition calling for the treaty to be preserved. The gender equality group the rights center has called a demonstration for the coming week, accusing MPs of disregarding the will of the Latvian people.

International Worries and Potential Future Actions

The leader of the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly stated that the Baltic state had made a rash decision driven by false information. He characterized it as an "unprecedented and deeply concerning step backward for female equality and fundamental freedoms in the continent".

He noted that since the transcontinental nation abandoned the treaty in 2021, cases of femicide and violence against women had risen sharply.

Because the decision did not achieve a supermajority support, the president could possibly return the bill for additional review if he has objections.

President Rinkevics announced on digital platforms that he would assess the vote according to legal principles, "considering governmental and judicial considerations, rather than belief-based perspectives".

Recently, another member of the ruling coalition, the reformist party, suggested it would not exclude petitioning to the Constitutional Court.

"This vote represents a worrisome development for gender equality not only in our nation but throughout Europe," stated a human rights advocate.

• Domestic abuse rates have been rising in several European countries
• The Istanbul Convention mandates specific legal protections for victims of domestic abuse
• Latvia's vote could affect comparable debates in additional member states