(MENAFN) The Latvian parliament has voted to withdraw from an international agreement aimed at combating violence against women. Following Thursday's vote in the Saeima, the country’s president is set to review the contentious legislation.

The Council of Europe Convention, often referred to as the Istanbul Convention, identifies violence against women as a violation of human rights.

Signed by numerous Council member states, the treaty seeks to harmonize the domestic laws of its signatories to address various forms of gender-based violence. Initially opened for signature in Istanbul in 2011, the treaty came into effect three years later.

The Seima voted 56 to 44 to exit the convention after the Greens and Farmers Union, one of the three parties in the ruling coalition, broke away from Prime Minister Evika Silina’s position and sided with the opposition.

Supporters of the withdrawal argue that the treaty introduces a definition of gender that extends beyond biological sex, presenting it as a social construct.
These lawmakers assert that Latvia’s existing laws are adequate to address the issue of gender-based violence.

After the vote, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics faces a range of options, including sending the law back to parliament for reconsideration or calling for a referendum.

Should the withdrawal be enacted, Latvia would become the first European Union member state to leave the treaty, which had only been in force in the country for less than a year.

Latvia would follow in the footsteps of Türkiye, which pulled out of the convention in 2021.

Reports from state media indicate that around 5,000 people gathered outside the Saeima in Riga on Wednesday evening to protest the potential withdrawal.

Prime Minister Silina addressed the demonstrators, expressing her support for Latvia’s continued participation in the treaty.

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