UN side event: “The 10th anniversary of the Istanbul Convention”
On 22 June, the ICJ, Human Rights Watch, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Center for Reproductive Rights and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, with the co-sponsorship of the Kingdom of Spain, organize an online event on the 10th anniversary of the Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention).
This side event at the margin of the 47th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council has convened expert speakers to illustrate the situation of human rights protection to combat and prevent violence against women in Europe, how the Istanbul Convention has crucially contributed to this goal and the obstacles to its effective implementation.
Preventing and combating violence against women, as well as its causes and consequences, are a priority of the UN Human Rights Council. While UN standards are central to achieving this goal, regional standards have to date provided a key contribution in this field. The Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention is the most far-reaching international treaty specifically designed to counter violence against women.
On 11 May 2021, the Istanbul Convention turned 10 years old. It is now time to take stock of the achievements that this Convention has contributed to as well as the challenges ahead, including countering the spread of misinformation about the Convention and ensuring states continue to champion its principles and standards.
Women and girls are still suffering the aftermaths of the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic effects have shown a worrying increase on violence against women. The universalization of the Istanbul Convention is more important than ever because the pandemic has unveiled the “permanent shadow pandemic” that women and girls are suffering around the world.
When: Tuesday June 22nd, 13:00 – 14:00 CEST
Where: Zoom
Language: English
Panelists
- María Isabel Sanchís, Senior Advisor, Office of the Commissioner on Violence against Women of the Government of Spain
- Dubravka Šimonović, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Dame Silvia Cartwright, former Governor General of New Zealand, former CEDAW member, Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists
- Professor Feride Acar, former chairwoman of CEDAW and GREVIO
- Hillary Margolis, Senior Researcher, Women’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch
Moderator Massimo Frigo, UN Representative, ICJ
To confirm your participation and receive connection details, please RSVP to Massimo Frigo, email: [email protected] .
Event-Invitation-Side Event-IstanbulConvention-UN-HRC47-final-2021-eng (download the event leaflet)