• Ukraine ratifies key international treaty aimed at protecting women’s rights.
• The Istanbul Convention is the world’s first binding instrument to prevent and combat violence against women.
• The treaty came into force in 2014, and requires governments to adopt legislation prosecuting domestic violence.

Parliament in Ukraine on Monday,  ratified the Istanbul Convention, a key international treaty for protecting women’s rights through laws aimed at preventing and prosecuting gender violence.

The treaty, which aims to combat domestic violence and violence against women, was ratified four months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Ukraine’s parliament has ratified the Istanbul Convention,” the Rada, or parliament, tweeted shortly after lawmakers approved the convention by a vote of 259 in favour, eight against, and 47 abstentions.

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Adopted in 2011, the Council of Europe’s so-called Istanbul Convention is the world’s first binding instrument to prevent and combat violence against women, from marital rape to female genital mutilation.

The treaty, which came into force in 2014, requires governments to adopt legislation prosecuting domestic violence and similar abuse.

“A historic event that will bring us to the EU even faster,” tweeted Oleksandr Korniyenko, first deputy chairman of the Rada.

🇪🇺🇺🇦 @ua_parliament has ratified the Istanbul Convention. A historic event that will bring us to the EU even faster. I thank colleagues for staying faithful to European values, ​as human rights are paramount! pic.twitter.com/ty8Z9oIWLk

— Oleksandr Korniyenko (@OlekKorn) June 20, 2022

“It took 11 years and three presidents for Ukraine to ratify #IstanbulConvention on fighting domestic violence,” tweeted Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s representative to the UN.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr “Zelensky and all MPs who voted for ratification cut yet another cord that had anchored Ukraine to the Russian world,” he said, while deputy prime minister Olga Stefanishyna also hailed the move.

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“This step will consolidate Ukraine’s long-term commitment towards preventing and “combating violence against women and domestic violence,” she tweeted.

“Every person must be protected. It’s about human rights and dignity.”