Protesters gathered outside the legislative building this week
The Baltic nation's parliament members have decided to withdraw from an global treaty designed to safeguard females from violence, covering domestic abuse, following extensive and intense debates in the legislature.
Several thousand of demonstrators assembled in Riga this week to voice disagreement with the vote. The ultimate authority now rests with President Edgars Rinkevics, who must decide whether to endorse or veto the legislation.
Referred to as the Istanbul Convention, the 2011 agreement only became active in Latvia last twelve months ago, requiring governments to establish laws and assistance programs to eliminate all types of abuse.
The Baltic nation has become the initial EU country to initiate the procedure of exiting from the convention. Turkey withdrew in 2021, a decision that human rights organizations described as a significant setback for women's rights.
The international agreement was ratified by the EU in 2023, yet traditionalist factions have argued that its focus on gender equality undermines traditional families and promotes what they term "gender ideology".
Following a lengthy debate in the Latvian parliament, MPs decided by a margin of 56-32 to withdraw from the treaty, a move sponsored by opposition parties but backed by politicians from one of the three governing partners.
The result represents a defeat for centre-right government leader 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 abuse does not triumph," she stated to the assembly.
One of the primary parties supporting the withdrawal is a nationalist party, whose head has urged the public to select from what he terms a "traditional family unit" and "non-binary concepts with various gender identities".
Latvia's ombudswoman Karina Palkova urged the treaty not to be made political, while the organization Equality Now asserted it was "not a threat to national principles, it was an instrument to achieve them".
The Thursday's vote has provoked broad protest both inside the country and internationally.
Twenty-two thousand individuals have endorsed a national appeal demanding the treaty to be maintained. The gender equality group the rights center has announced a demonstration for next Thursday, charging MPs of disregarding the will of the nation's citizens.
The head of the European organization's legislative body commented that Latvia had made a rash choice driven by misinformation. He described it as an "never-before-seen and extremely worrying regression for women's rights and human rights in Europe".
He noted that since Turkey left the treaty four years ago, instances of gender-based killings and abuse targeting females had risen sharply.
Because the vote did not achieve a two-thirds majority, the president could potentially send back the bill for further review if he has concerns.
President the national leader stated on social media that he would assess the vote according to legal requirements, "taking into account governmental and judicial considerations, rather than belief-based perspectives".
Recently, another member of the governing alliance, the Progressives, indicated it would not rule out appealing to the Constitutional Court.
"This vote represents a concerning development for gender equality not only in our nation but across the continent," stated a rights activist.
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