US disappointed by Turkey's withdrawal from convention on women's rights

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey’s withdrawal from a treaty on preventing violence against women is ‘deeply disappointing’, US President Joe Biden said in a Sunday press release. 

“Turkey’s sudden and unwarranted withdrawal from the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is deeply disappointing,” he wrote. 

“Around the world, we are seeing increases in the number of domestic violence incidents, including reports of rising femicide in Turkey, the first nation to sign the convention. Countries should be working to strengthen and renew their commitments to ending violence against women, not rejecting international treaties designed to protect women and hold abusers accountable.”

The Istanbul Convention, ratified by Turkey in 2012, aims to protect women against all forms of violence – and prosecute those guilty of domestic violence and violence against women. 

Women’s rights activists in Turkey have expressed their outrage at the decision, which prompted protests in Istanbul, according to AFP. 

Officials from top European human rights bodies have also spoken out against the withdrawal.

“This move is a huge setback to these efforts and all the more deplorable because it compromises the protection of women in Turkey, across Europe and beyond,” said Marija Pejcinovic Buric, secretary general of the Council of Europe.