The Istanbul Convention is in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova
In a reply to the Constitutional Court in Chisinau, the Venice Commission said that the provisions of the Istanbul Convention regarding the family were in line with those of the Moldovan Constitution. The opinion of European experts gives hope to those waiting for the ratification by the Republic of Moldova of the document aimed at combating violence against women and domestic violence. The PAS parliamentary majority has already voted for ratification on October 14. But the Bloc of Communists and Socialists has plans for the Constitutional Court. Both the left and the Orthodox clergy said that some provisions of the Convention would “promote abortion”, “link same-sex marriage” and “destroy Christian values and traditions.” What’s next?
The hope of the opponents of the Istanbul Convention that they will stop the ratification of the document with the help of the Constitution has been shattered, because the Venice Commission has not identified any dissonance with the supreme law of the Moldovan state.
“In the next period, the Court must rule on the challenge to the Istanbul Convention, by a decision of inadmissibility or by a judgment,” the President of the Constitutional Court said in a reply to Free Europe. Domnica Manole.
The High Court has asked the Venice Commission to comment on the consequences of several provisions of the Istanbul Convention on the right of parents to educate their children according to their own religious beliefs and the concept of family that they share. The conclusion of the experts is that the provisions of the Convention for the Prevention and Combating of Violence do not contradict the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova.
The Venice Commission’s opinion points to the use of the term “gender”, one of the issues challenged by a left-wing position, that the aim of understanding gender is to eradicate perpetuated violence by conceiving that women are inferior to men.
To educate children in the spirit of tolerance and equality …
Lawyer Arina Turcan, from the Center for Women’s Rights points out that in the conclusions of a long analysis, the commission’s experts also provide clarifications on the understanding of gender roles, without stereotypes, through the education system, ie to educate children in the spirit of tolerance and equality:
“The opinion of the Venice Commission, as you have seen, says that it is not in fact unconstitutional. Respectively, the Convention speaks of the need to educate children in the spirit of equality between women and men, namely that in the educational aspect, those concepts that would combat stereotypes and gender prejudices are to be introduced. “
After long contradictory discussions, including the involvement of church faces, the Venice Commission’s opinion disputes the myth that ratification of the official document of the Council of Europe, known as the Istanbul Convention, would pave the way for legalizing same-sex marriage, the lawyer points out. Arina Turcan:
The government would continue its agenda for the implementation of the convention …
“In fact, the Convention does not oblige the state to amend the Constitution, nor does it oblige the state to legalize same-sex marriage. With regard to marriage, the Convention generally speaks only of forced marriage, which it defines and criminalizes as a form of violence. “
Next, the government lawyer says she would continue her agenda for the implementation of the convention, obviously after the Constitutional Court’s decision, which has the prerogative to verify whether or not an international treaty contradicts the supreme law. By ratifying the Istanbul Convention, the Moldovan authorities undertake to allocate resources and provide the necessary services and assistance to every woman who reports an act of domestic violence. Authorities say one in three women aged 15 and over has been subjected to physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.