Signatories are ministers from 16 European countries.**
Today we mark the 10th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against women and domestic violence. It was concluded and signed in Istanbul in 2011.
A result of a series of European initiatives started in the 90’, it came into force on 1 August 2014 and it is known as the “Istanbul Convention”. As of today, 33 countries have signed, ratified and enforced it. Another 11 countries have signed without ratifying it yet. One country recently withdrew from it.
The Istanbul Convention has been a landmark achievement in the fight against gender-based violence. It is the first European legally binding treaty in this area.