We could be a pioneer in creating a strong voice in favour of ‘yes’ to the natural family and ‘no’ to gender,” said Grabczuk. Poland should not withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, says Secretary General Strasbourg 26/07/2020 Diminuer la taille du texte Augmenter la taille du … Five Istanbul Convention myths - and why Poland is wrong Four years ago, all EU member states chose to sign the Istanbul Convention, which marked a milestone in combating violence against women and domestic violence (Photo: Grzegorz Żukowski) Surprisingly, once the preamble about the role of the family is over, the alternative convention copies numerous formulations from the original Istanbul Convention, particularly when it comes to the mechanisms of combatting domestic violence. Poland In English/Telewizja Polska S. A. The authors say that the causes of violence are not related to structural gender inequality, but rather “pathologies”, among which are alcoholism, pornography, social atomisation, the breakdown of family ties and the sexualisation of women in the public space. As of March 2019, it has been signed by 45 countries and the European Union. For these reasons, ultra-conservatives in Poland and beyond have, for years, been railing against the document, which they argue will destroy the “traditional family” (i.e., heterosexual married couples with children) by imposing so-called “gender ideology” – an umbrella term created by these groups which seems to refer primarily to LGBT and reproductive rights. Katja Ziegler, an international law professor at Leicester University who specialises in the intersection of legal orders, says that even if four countries ratify this alternative convention – the minimum envisaged by its authors for the convention to come into force – EU member states would still have to respect any EU legislation that potentially clashes with the new convention. Marlena Malag, the country's family, labor and social policies minister, announced last week Poland was preparing to withdraw from the treaty, while those who support the convention held rallies, reacting to the announcement. Members of European Parliament demonstrate their support for the Polish LGBT community in front of the EP in Brussels, September 2020. This is a fake convention.”, Datta points out that a real treaty, as is the case with the Istanbul Convention, emerges from within a legal order like that of the Council of Europe after being supported by member states. The Croatian Justice and Administration Ministry confirmed to BIRN that it had received the letter from Poland. At the time, Morawiecki referred to the Istanbul Convention as an “ideological” document and said the Polish government “shared some of the apprehensions” of its critics. Now BIRN can confirm that the Polish government has begun that push to garner support from other countries in the region for replacing the Istanbul Convention with another document better aligned with the notion of the ‘traditional family’. The Polish Justice Ministry told BIRN that, “A letter on a proposal for cooperation in the preparation of the Convention on the rights and obligations of the family was sent to the justice ministries of a group of European states,” though it did not list the countries as per BIRN’s request. Were the EU as a whole to ratify the Istanbul Convention, even those member states which have not ratified it themselves – Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania – would have to implement it. Prime Minister Morawiecki repeated this line of thinking in his press conference at the end of July. The decision came during the life-time of the liberal administration led by the Civic Platform (PO). “And they do change the political mood,” he added. From İstanbul Convention The purposes, definitions and general obligations of the İstanbul Convention have been indicated in its first chapter of the as follows: Chapter I – Purposes, definitions, equality and non-discrimination, general Provisional timetable for the first (baseline) evaluation 2016-20 (revised on 29/06/2017), HELP online Course on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, Istanbul ConventionAction against violence against women and domestic violence, Steps in the first (baseline) evaluation procedure, HELP online course on Violence against Women, Poland should not withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, says Secretary General. (Anja Vladisavljevic in Zagreb, Marcel Gascón Barberá in Bucharest, Miroslava German Širotníková in Bratislava, and Nicholas Watson in Prague contributed to this article.). What’s the issue? Government critics expressed outrage on social media, saying the right-wing government of the conservative Law and Justice party was ready to sacrifice women’s safety for its own views based on Roman Catholic … In separate interviews with BIRN, representatives of two Polish ultra-conservative groups claimed an alternative convention, which they have helped draft, to replace the Istanbul Convention was received with interest by members of the governments of Hungary and Slovakia, although they did not provide any names. I n Polen ist eine Debatte über einen möglichen Austritt aus der Istanbul-Konvention gegen Gewalt gegen Frauen entbrannt. Poland Leads on Istanbul Convention Poland's decision presents an opportunity to Europe. Conservative forces in Poland, both inside and outside the government, are stepping up efforts in the region to reject the 2011 Council of Europe Convention on combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention, and potentially replace it with another treaty that seeks to boost the rights of ‘traditional families’ at the expense of sexual minorities, BIRN can reveal. We won’t anticipate the position of the Czech Republic.”. In our response, we presented the position of the Ministry of Justice, that the Istanbul Convention is an important international legal act in the field of preventing and combating violence against women and within family,” the statement continued. Instead, an alternative ‘Family Rights Convention’ has even been initiated in its place, which, in contrast to the Istanbul Convention, contains chapters on abortion and same-sex marriages. Zbigniew Ziobro said the document, known as the Istanbul Convention, was Photo: EPA/EFE ANDRZEJ GRYGIEL. This is the only thing that can be communicated at the moment. Ordo Iuris’s Pawlowska, who says she hopes the new convention will become at least a regional treaty, seems to confirm Datta’s view. Poland plans to withdraw from Istanbul Convention Even if the political debate over The Istanbul Convention is also a uniquely Polish debate about the conservative orientation of the country's domestic politics, the criticism against this Convention is more than justified. Infographics and brochure on the four pillars of the Istanbul Convention: prevention, protection, prosecution and co-ordinated policies. In our view, international law, EU law and our national law provide appropriate legal frameworks in this area. In the draft document, Ordo Iuris and its colleagues start from the premise that it is the “weakening” of the traditional family which has led to the intensification of domestic violence. Deadline: 18-Mar-21 The call for proposals “Civil society communication and advocacy campaigns on the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention by piloting the joint methodology developed by Council of Europe, WAVE Network and UN Women in one country: Czech Republic, Latvia or Poland”, aims to pilot the joint methodology by supporting projects from CSOs working in these pilot … The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe against violence against women and domestic violence which was opened for signature on 11 May 2011, in Istanbul, Turkey. In Poland, tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets following a government minister’s announcement that the State was planning to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. Poland divided over plan to exit Istanbul Convention on domestic violence The country’s government said it agreed with measures on abuse but rejected ‘ideology’ on gender. Poland’s justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, said on Saturday that he would begin preparing the formal process to withdraw from the Istanbul convention on Monday. Poland had already ratified the convention, with the other … Ziobro’s announcement prompted strong reactions among both the proponents and critics of the Istanbul Convention. “This content is addressed by the Istanbul Convention, to which the Republic of Slovenia has also acceded. Will other leaders take it? In 2018, bishops from Central and Eastern Europe had already called on their respective governments “to refuse the ratification of the Istanbul Protocol, or to revoke the signature”. To mark the tenth anniversary of the Istanbul Convention, Federal Family Minister Franziska Giffey (SPD) called on the member states of the Council of Europe to fight violence against women. If there are any misconceptions or misunderstandings about the Convention, we are ready to clarify them in a constructive dialogue. Poland to leave Istanbul convention (A treaty to stop violence against women). Now we are analysing it. This aims to collect 100,000 signatures to file a citizen’s initiative draft law with the Polish parliament, which would request the president pull out of the Istanbul Convention and the government create a team to write the text of an international convention on family rights. Their alternative convention proposes measures to strengthen the role of traditional families in society, including reducing state interference in family life and giving parents more control over the education of their children. The Istanbul Convention, a document by the Council of Europe for fighting gender-based violence, has been signed by Lithuania back in 2011, but not yet ratified due to opposition from religious groups. Image Credits: Notes From Poland Protests have been taking place in Warsaw, Poland mainly by women on the party’s decision to retract from the treaty which provided protection to women against domestic abuse. The Istanbul Convention has long been a target for populists who endorse the Minister’s spurious claim it poses a threat to “traditional family values.” In Poland, the situation for women and girls may become even more dangerous after the country’s Minister of Justice, announced last weekend a proposal to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention The Istanbul Convention, which Poland ratified in 2015, attributes violence against women to the historical inequality between men and women, and defines gender as “socially constructed roles”. Ordo Iuris is also spearheading a Europe-wide campaign calling on the European Commission to halt efforts by the EU to ratify the Istanbul Convention, a process which has already been initiated. The two Polish groups already have a draft convention to replace the Istanbul Convention, the text for which was prepared by Ordo Iuris in cooperation with former MEP Marek Jurek (Jurek is one of those in the frame to become Poland’s next Ombudsman). While Datta is sceptical Ordo Iuris will be able to get enough governments to sign up to the alternative convention, he admits that efforts to promote it might be useful in preventing the ratification of the Istanbul Convention by the EU or blocking further European progress on LGBT and women’s rights in general. Photo: EPA-EFE/OLIVIER HOSLET. Considering that this is an issue within the competence of the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, the letter was forwarded to the respective ministry for competent action”. “Leaving the Istanbul Convention would be highly regrettable and a major step backward in the protection of women against violence in Europe,” he tweeted. The convention aims at prevention of violence, victim protection and to end the impunity of perpetrators. A spokesperson for the Czech Justice Ministry told BIRN: “The Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic received the letter. The Istanbul Convention is the Council of Europe‘s key international treaty to combat violence against women and domestic violence - and that is its sole objective. So while they haven’t necessarily been successful in rolling back LGBT rights, they have managed to stop advances that could have otherwise happened.”. BIRN asked the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy about the issue but received no reply. Topics Covered: Issues related to women. “On 25 August 2020, we received a letter from the Polish Ministry of Justice proposing the creation of a possible new initiative for the preparation of an international convention relating to family matters, the protection of children and the fight against domestic violence,” a spokesperson from the ministry wrote in a statement to BIRN. “For us, this would be a great opportunity geopolitically: to create a Central European alliance among those countries which, despite enormous pressure from the EU, have not ratified the Istanbul Convention. On the same day, Pawel Jablonski, an undersecretary of state in the Polish Foreign Ministry, wrote on Twitter that his ministry had started “diplomatic activities for the adoption of an international treaty – the convention protecting the rights of families.”. “We have signals that the countries which have not ratified the Istanbul Convention are waiting for us,” said Lidia Grabczuk, a spokesperson for the right-wing politician and former MEP Marek Jurek, who heads the Christian Social Congress, referring to the fact the convention remains unratified by 13 signatories, including Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Lithuania. For example, Article 9 says signatory states “do not recognise the legal effects of same-sex relationships… entered into any form whatsoever, either internally or abroad” and “cannot be required to take any measures facilitating same-sex relationships abroad”; Article 37 asks countries to cooperate to ensure criminal liability for those performing illegal abortions; Article 14 calls on public authorities to “not affect, in any way, the reduction of fertility or make it difficult for families to have children” – an unclear formulation which could be later interpreted to mean restricting legal abortion. NOTE: This article was amended on October 7, 2020, to add the response of the Croatian Justice and Administration Ministry. Days before Ziobro’s announcement on July 27, the Polish ultra-conservative groups Ordo Iuris and the Christian Social Congress launched their “Family – yes, Gender – no” initiative. The prime minister also suggested that Poland had already initiated international cooperation on finding a better instrument to combat domestic violence than the Istanbul Convention. “That’s the whole reason why this initiative started, because we saw that the European Court of Human Rights is, step by step, trying to violate the definition of family and marriage in countries like Poland, Romania, Bulgaria,” Pawlowska said. “The Justice and Administration Ministry has received messages from the Polish Minister of Justice regarding an initiative to define a new international agreement that would deal with the protection of the family. “Leaving the Istanbul Convention would be highly regrettable and a major step backwards in the protection of women against violence in Europe,” Ms Pejcinovic Buric tweeted. “The [Ordo Iuris] convention blends legal rules and principles which are contained in other instruments [for example, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child] which are, at least at a general level, uncontroversial and unobjectionable with very problematic and controversial concepts which are slipped in – like a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Ziegler told BIRN, pointing to references to the notion of ‘natural family’, the commitment not to recognise the legal effects of same-sex relationships and to a number of vague paragraphs that could be aimed at limiting or prohibiting abortion. In September, after Ziobro’s call to reject the Istanbul Convention, the Polish Episcopate also expressed its support for the “Family – yes, Gender – no” initiative. Ziegler adds that countries like those in CEE which signed the Istanbul Convention but have not yet ratified it are still bound by international law not to take any measures that would defeat the object and purpose of the Istanbul Convention. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown how vulnerable women are to domestic violence. BIRN can confirm that at least four governments in the region – the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia – have been invited to join Poland in its efforts to create an alternative convention to the Istanbul Convention. “We also have this new project of an EU LGBT strategy, in which the EU would like to impose the recognition of marriage contracted in countries that do recognise gay marriage, on other countries which don’t.”. What is included in this alternative family rights convention and how did it come about? Finally, the Slovenian Justice Ministry also confirmed receiving the letter, adding that it already sent back a negative reply to the Polish side. “You and I can sit down and write a convention but that doesn’t mean it has any legal value.”. Poland Begins Push in Region to Replace Istanbul Convention with “Family Rights” Treaty, resolutions against what they deride as “LGBT ideology”, well-documented network of ultra-conservative groups, had already called on their respective governments, Mass Arrest of LGBT People Marks Turning Point for Poland, Polish Activists Face Legal Action Over ‘Atlas of Hate’, European Commission Condemns Poland’s ‘LGBT-Free Zones’. Therefore, we see no reason for a different regime that the one that is regulated by the Istanbul Convention.”. He said there are people claiming that opposing the Istanbul Convention also means being against the protection of victims, which he called "a downright lie". Poland’s intended withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention is unacceptable and clearly shows that we can never take women’s rights for granted. Poland signed the Istanbul Convention for the prevention and combating of violence against women and domestic violence in 2015. Istanbul Convention Context: Poland is to withdraw from Istanbul Convention- a treaty aimed at preventing violence against women. Poland is already under fire from the EU because municipalities across a third of the territory of Poland have now adopted resolutions against what they deride as “LGBT ideology”, often promoted by PiS local councillors using a template provided by the ultra-conservative group Ordo Iuris. To achieve this, it was undertaking “diplomatic activities, above all bilateral talks with representatives of countries which could be interested in joining this initiative.”. “It is significant that this has not been triggered in an international forum, but as the ‘grassroots’ activity of one state outside of a multilateral forum (the UN or Council of Europe, for example), which is now looking for allies,” Ziegler said. They are part of a well-documented network of ultra-conservative groups from Europe, the US and Russia, which seek to roll back LGBT and women’s rights. [ DW ; NYT: Poland ] In Poland and elsewhere, conservative politicians have described the Convention as endangering the traditional family. All 47 members of the Strasbourg country organization should ratify the convention “and preferably sooner” in the next ten years, said Giffey on Friday together with Council of Europe … “Without the ideological assumptions behind the Istanbul Convention, some aspects are neutral and can be interesting instruments to combat violence, but only if we properly address its real causes.”. The dispute over the Istanbul Convention hit the headlines earlier this summer when hardline Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro filed an official request with the Ministry for Family, Work and Social Policy, asking it to initiate proceedings for withdrawing the country from the Istanbul Convention. Will Poland withdraw from Istanbul Convention? The Istanbul Convention, which Poland ratified in 2015, attributes violence against women to the historical inequality between men and women, … “It is an attempt to shape international law in a certain, fundamentalist direction by potentially hollowing out existing protections.”, Neil Datta, secretary of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights and an expert in the global ultra-conservative movement, told BIRN: “The Ordo Iuris Convention is full of complicated legal text that sounds plausible, but would only pass a legal analysis if this was made by the author’s own lawyers. According to Karolina Pawlowska, director of the international law centre at Ordo Iuris, “many other organisations from across Europe” contributed to this Convention on the Rights of the Family. on the four pillars of the Istanbul Convention: Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Disclaimer - © Council of Europe 2020 - © photo credit. The Istanbul Convention, also known as the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, is, in fact, trying to make gender ideology and the ideology of … Leaving the Istanbul Convention would be highly regrettable and a major step backwards in the protection of women against violence in Europe.”. While presented as an alternative to the Istanbul Convention, the Ordo Iuris proposal also includes articles about same-sex partnerships and abortion – topics that are important for its authors but are not included in the Istanbul Convention. And the Polish Foreign Ministry confirmed to BIRN in late September that it was “coordinating activities aimed at creating an international legal act protecting the rights of family”, at the instruction of the prime minister. Ziobro, known for his strict Catholic views, argued that the Istanbul Convention “takes aim at family, marriage and the currently functioning social culture when it comes to comprehending gender.”. “This is a private thing written by an NGO that they promoted to a member state, Poland, which hasn’t even adopted it into its legal order before it started shopping around for allies,” Datta said. The reason behind withdrawal is that Poland thinks the Convention is harmful because it required schools to teach children about gender. Istanbul Convention contains ‘elements of an ideological nature, which we consider harmful,’ justice minister says. Poland’s highest court will evaluate the Istanbul Convention, a European treaty aimed at combating violence against women, which the country’s government considers too liberal. Poland has begun diplomatic efforts in neighbouring countries to rally support for a “family rights convention” – initiated by ultra-conservatives and designed as a regional challenge to the Istanbul Convention and EU attempts to further LGBT and women’s rights. Zbigniew Ziobro, the Polish minister of justice and founder of the PiS spin-off Solidarna Polska, wants his country to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. On July 30, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, whose Law and Justice (PiS) party is in coalition with Ziobro’s United Poland, announced that he had asked the country’s constitutional court – widely thought to be controlled by PiS – to examine whether the Istanbul Convention is in line with the Polish constitution. People take part in a protest against Poland’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention on July 27, 2020, in Krakow. Marlena Maląg, Polish Minister for Family, Labor and Social Policy, said in a television interview that Poland could withdraw from the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention. “We believe that the convention lays a good foundation for meeting the challenges in our society and paves the way for values ​​such as equality and dignity for all citizens. The Slovakian Justice Ministry also confirmed that it was one of the recipients of this letter from its Polish counterpart: “We can confirm that the Polish Ministry of Justice has sent us a letter, where it proposes the creation of a multilateral convention dealing with the protection of family, children and the fight against violence, including its sources,” a spokesperson said.
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