Regional Forum for the Promotion of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey

The Second Regional Forum, with an aim to accelerate the implementation of the Istanbul Convention (IC) and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in the Western Balkans and Turkey, will address issues towards an integrated response to violence against women and improving the implementation of provisions within the Istanbul Convention related to sexual violence, harassment, stalking, and other forms of violence. The event will bring together representatives of civil society, national governments, and regional institutions under the framework of the EU/UN Women regional programme “Ending gender-based discrimination and violence against women in the Western Balkans and Turkey: Implementing Norms, Changing Minds.” The Regional Forum is convened by the Government of Albania, Council of Europe, European Commission, and UN Women.

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, is the first legally binding treaty in Europe that criminalises different forms of violence against women and girls. The Convention emphasises and recognises that violence against women is a human rights violation, a form of discrimination against women, and a cause and consequence of inequality between women and men. The IC requires State parties to take a holistic approach to violence against women and domestic violence.

Similarly, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) adopted General Recommendation (GR) no. 35 in July 2017, which reaffirms the UN’s commitment to a world free from violence for all women and girls and defines gender-based violence (GBV) as a social problem: “one of the fundamental social, political and economic means by which the subordinate position of women with respect to men and their stereotyped roles are perpetuated.” It also sets out the requirement for comprehensive responses to address GBV.

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Agenda