The Latvian Parliament voted on Thursday to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty aimed at supporting women victims of violence.
The ballot number was 56 to withdraw from the treaty, 32 to remain and two to abstain.
Is voting set in stone?
The vote, which came after 13 hours of intense debate, would make Latvia the first EU member state to leave the Istanbul Convention, which was approved by the same parliament in November 2024.
The proposal will now have to be signed off by Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, who has indicated he is not in favor of it. However, he has also indicated that he cannot overturn the parliamentary decision.
The Council of Europe treaty came into force in Latvia last year and aims to standardize support for women victims of violence, including domestic abuse.
What is the argument against the Istanbul Convention?
However, ultra-Orthodox groups and political parties across Europe have criticized the treaty, arguing that it promotes “gender ideology”, encourages sexual experimentation and harms children.
In September, opposition MPs in Latvia began the process of walking out of the conference. He was affiliated with the Greens and Farmers Union, an agricultural coalition member of the tripartite governing coalition that also includes Prime Minister Ivica Silena’s centre-right party and the centre-left Party.
Silena, whose coalition came to power with a promise to ratify the treaty in 2023, has criticized efforts to withdraw from the pact.
“People who were brave enough to ask for help are now seeing their experiences used for political battle,” Silena posted on X in October. “It’s cruel.”
‘This decision puts women and girls in Latvia at risk’
The alliance between the opposition and ruling lawmakers in support of the withdrawal highlights cracks in the ruling coalition ahead of the next parliamentary elections scheduled for late 2026.
Tamar Dekanosidze of the international women’s rights organization Equality Now said in response to the vote, “This decision not only endangers women and girls in Latvia, but it also emboldens anti-human rights movements across Europe and Central Asia, and supports the authoritarian tendencies of governments moving away from the rule of law, international justice, and democratic values.”
About 5,000 people protested outside the parliament in Riga on Wednesday night against the withdrawal, according to the Baltic News Service.
On Thursday, about 20 people also rallied in favor of the return.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko