European Parliament Vote to Approve The Report on the EU Accession to the Istanbul Convention

Members of the European Parliament welcome the signing of the EU accession of the Istanbul Convention on 13 June 2017 in the interim report adopted on Tuesday by 489 votes to 114 and 69 abstentions. They make the following call for action:

• urge Member States to speed up negotiations on the ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention;
• EP should be fully engaged in the monitoring process of the Istanbul Convention following the EU’s accession;
• Member States should allocate adequate financial and human resources to prevent and combat violence against women and gender-based violence;
• appropriate training, procedures and guidelines for all professionals dealing with the victims of all acts of violence should be available;
• promote a change in attitudes and behaviours and shifting the guilt from victims to perpetrators;
• ask the Commission to initiate, without delay or postponement, a constructive dialogue with the Council and Member States, in cooperation with the Council of Europe, so as to address reservations, objections and concerns expressed by Member States
• to combat sexism and stereotyped gender roles - promoting gender-neutral language and address the key role of media and advertising.

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