According to the Delfi portal, the discussion of the bill in parliament lasted 12 hours, during which 56 deputies voted "in favor," 32 were against, and two abstained.
The President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, has ten days to sign the bill or return it for reconsideration to the Saeima.
The Istanbul Convention recognizes violence against women as a violation of human rights and has been ratified by 38 European states, including Georgia. However, in Latvia, critics of the convention argue that it contradicts traditional family values, particularly disputing the definitions of the term "gender."
If the president signs the bill, Latvia will become the first country in the EU to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, while Turkey has already done so earlier. Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Armenia have signed the convention but have not ratified it.
Although Kyrgyzstan is not a party to the Istanbul Convention, as it is intended only for member states of the Council of Europe, the conclusion of the bill "On Protection from Domestic Violence" mentions the possibility of using the provisions of the convention as reference material for developing local legislation.
Photo on the main page: Victor Lisitsyn / Russian Look / picture alliance.
