"The duty of the state is to protect the rights and lives of individuals, to eliminate inequality and discrimination and to provide a non-violent environment and the right to life. We urge the authorities to revoke the withdrawal decision," said 78 bars.
78 bar associations in Turkey have released a joint statement on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the signature of the Istanbul Convention to condemn the decision of the AKP-MHP government to withdraw from the convention to prevent violence against women.
The statement said, "We respectfully share with the public that the Istanbul Convention is still in force, we do not give up and we will continue our legal struggle."
The statement further included the following:
"On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Istanbul Convention, we once again declare that it is against the law, the Constitution and international conventions to withdraw from the Convention by a presidential decree on 20 March 2021. In a period when we have raised our demands for an effective implementation of the Istanbul Convention which considers violence against women as a result of gender inequality and discrimination and accepts violence against women as a violation of human rights, it is unacceptable that Turkey has withdrawn from the convention "illegally".
The duty of the state is to protect the rights and lives of individuals, to eliminate inequality and discrimination and to provide a non-violent environment and the right to life.
We urge the authorities to revoke the withdrawal decision that would leave women unprotected."
