AUCCRO calls on the Parliament to withdraw the Istanbul Convention from consideration

The AUCCRO called on the Parliament to withdraw from consideration the ratification of the Istanbul Convention.

The statement of the AUCCRO reads:

"Attempts to ratify the Istanbul Convention in wartime conditions and the presence of opposing views in society regarding such an initiative will only provoke a new wave of public protests, discontent, and criticism of the Ukrainian leadership. And this is at a time when our state needs unity, cohesion, and consolidation of the efforts of all public institutions to win the war against the Russian aggressor.

This is stated in the appeals of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations on the inadmissibility of ratification of the Istanbul Convention sent on June 16 to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the heads of parliamentary factions.

It became known that the issue of ratification of the Istanbul Convention was put on the agenda of the parliament session on Monday, June 20.

The Istanbul Convention and norms aimed at combating domestic violence introduce the concept of “gender” as an ideological concept of human self-identification (Article 3). Religious communities of Ukraine cannot agree with this because ignoring the fact that there are biological articles that characterize a woman or a man and the associated obligation to teach children non-stereotypical gender roles (Article 14 of the convention) threatens to distort the younger generation's sexual identity, popularize same-sex sexual relations and spread cases of gender dysphoria among children and youth.

"Given the dangers of gender ideology, instead of ratifying the Istanbul Convention, the AUCCRO calls for practical measures and development of Ukraine's national legislation on countering domestic violence and violence against women, as do other European countries that also refused to ratify this convention – Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Armenia and Turkey, which denounced the ratification of the Istanbul Convention,” emphasizes the Council of Churches.

Religious figures call on the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and parliamentarians to prevent an escalation of tension and a split in Ukrainian society, namely, "to withdraw from consideration the issue of ratification of the Istanbul Convention as the one requiring further public discussion and search for public consensus.”