Latvian Lawmakers Have Voted To Withdraw From An International Treaty Protecting Women From Violence, Causing Outrage
The results was met with mass opposition from women’s rights groups and Latvians, with more than 22,000 people signing a petition not to leave the treaty.
Latvian lawmakers have voted to withdraw from an international treaty protecting women from violence, causing outrage and mass protests.
The human rights treaty, known as the Istanbul Convention, is aimed at preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
It requires governments to create a comprehensive legal framework that protects victims and prosecutes accused offenders.
Created by the Council of Europe in 2011, it has been signed by 45 countries, as well as the European Union.
Latvia signed the convention in 2016, and it came into effect in May 2024.
However, on Oct. 30, Latvia’s lawmakers voted by 56 to 32 to withdraw from the convention despite thousands of people holding huge protests against the withdrawal a day earlier.
Ultra-conservative groups had said that the treaty “undermines family values” by promoting gender equality, framing it as a choice between “a natural family” or “gender ideology with multiple sexes.”
The results was met with mass opposition from women’s rights groups and Latvians, with more than 22,000 people signing a petition not to leave the treaty.
Latvia’s President Edgars Rinkevics has since declined to sign off the withdrawal and sent it back to parliament for a vote in November 2026.
If passed, Latvia would become the first European Union member to vote for withdrawal from the treaty.
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