"The Istanbul Convention is aimed exclusively at destroying family values by many dark forces around the world." Chairman of the Azerbaijan People's Party (APP), Panah Huseyn, told this in his statement to Yeni Musavat.
"Especially considering that the convention is aimed exclusively at destroying family values by many dark forces around the world, although I am not against a number of separate provisions there, I think that this convention is harmful as a system, and I do not believe that it serves the purposes declared in appearance," Panah Huseyn said.
Fakt Yoxla examined whether the party's chairman's claims about the Istanbul Convention were true.
Discussions on the Istanbul Convention began with Turkey's renunciation of this document, which was ratified in 2011. The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence is called the Istanbul Convention for short because it was signed in Istanbul. The Convention, which entered into force in 2014 after ratification by 10 countries of the Council of Europe, is the first document to establish a legal obligation to combat violence against women.
The Convention has been signed by 46 countries and the European Union and ratified by 34 countries. Azerbaijan has not signed the Istanbul Convention. An earlier analysis by Fakt Yoxla found that there was no legal inconsistency in the legislation that would prevent Azerbaijan from acceding to the Convention. It is possible to bring the legislation in line with the Convention by making some addendums and amendments to local normative acts. But the government has not yet taken any action.
Article 4 of the Convention states that the States Parties are obliged to protect the rights of victims, regardless of religion, language, race, property, sex, sexual orientation, or other social statuses. The Convention requires States to do:
Prevention
- change attitudes, gender roles and stereotypes that make violence against women acceptable;
- train professionals working with victims;
- raise awareness of the different forms of violence and their traumatising nature;
- include teaching material on equality issues in the curricula at all levels of education;
- co-operate with NGOs, the media and the private sector to reach out to the public.
Protection
- ensure that the needs and safety of victims are placed at the heart of all measures;
- set up specialised support services that provide medical assistance as well as psychological and legal counselling to victims and their children;
- set up shelters in sufficient numbers and introduce free, round-the-clock telephone helplines.
Prosecution
- ensure that violence against women is criminalised and appropriately punished;
- ensure that excuses on the grounds of culture, custom, religion or so-called “honour” are unacceptable for any act of violence;
- ensure that victims have access to special protection measures during investigation and judicial proceedings;
- ensure that law enforcement agencies respond immediately to calls for assistance and manage dangerous situations adequately.
The convention requires States Parties to criminalise the following behaviours:
- domestic violence (physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence);
- stalking;
- sexual violence, including rape;
- sexual harassment;
- forced marriage;
- female genital mutilation;
- forced abortion and forced sterilisation.
As can be seen, all the provisions of the Istanbul Convention, as well as the countries that have ratified or rejected this document, are openly stated. There is no evidence that the Convention is aimed at destroying family values by dark forces.
The Convention is a document aimed at preventing violence against women. There is no lexical explanation or legal norm that states that violence is a family value.
Fakt Yoxla concludes that the statement is Propaganda.
