Istanbul Convention

This article is about the 2011 convention on violence against women. For the 1990 WTO Convention on Temporary Admission, see ATA Carnet § The Istanbul Convention.
For other uses, see Istanbul Treaty.

Istanbul Convention
Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence
Drafted7 April 2011
Signed11 May 2011
LocationIstanbul, Turkey
Effective1 August 2014
Condition10 ratifications of which 8 from Council of Europe members
Signatories45 states + EU
Ratifiers38 states + EU
DepositarySecretary General of the Council of Europe
CitationsCETS No. 210
LanguagesEnglish and French

The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe opposing violence against women and domestic violence which was opened for signature on 11 May 2011, in Istanbul, Turkey. The convention aims at prevention of violence, victim protection and to end the impunity of perpetrators.[1]

As of March 2019, it has been signed by 45 countries and the European Union.[2] On 12 March 2012, Turkey became the first country to ratify the convention, followed by 37 other countries and the European Union from 2013 to 2024 (Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece,[3] Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,[4] Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom).[2] The Convention came into force on 1 August 2014.[2]

In 2021, Turkey became the first and only country to withdraw from the convention, after denouncing it on 20 March 2021. The convention ceased to be effective in Turkey on 1 July 2021, following its denunciation.[5][6][7]

On 1 June 2023 the Council of the European Union approved the EU's accession to the Istanbul Convention.[8] On 28 June 2023 the European Union ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CETS No. 210), known as the "Istanbul Convention".[9] The Istanbul Convention entered into force in the EU on 1 October 2023, where the "EU member states that have not yet ratified the convention themselves will only be bound by the EU acquis, which implements the convention".[10]


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  1. ^ Council of Europe (2011). "Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence". Council of Europe Treaty Series - No. 210.
  2. ^ a b c "Full list: Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 210". Council of Europe. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference GreeceRatifiesConvention was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Saeima ratificē Stambulas konvenciju pēc teju 5 stundu debatēm". www.lsm.lv. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Erdoğan insists it's at his discretion to pull Turkey out of İstanbul Convention". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  6. ^ "TURKEY'S WITHDRAWAL FROM ISTANBUL CONVENTION".
  7. ^ Story by Reuters (1 July 2021). "Turkey formally quits treaty to prevent violence against women". CNN. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ "Combatting violence against women: Council adopts decision about EU's accession to Istanbul Convention". Council of the EU Press release. Council of the EU. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  9. ^ "The European Union deposited the instrument of approval of the "Istanbul Convention"". 28 June 2023.
  10. ^ EU accession to the Istanbul Convention, EUR-Lex