Turkey announced on Saturday that it will be withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.

The Convention on Violence against Women was adopted by the Council of Europe in April 2011. After being ratified by ten states in April 2014, it entered into force on 1 August 2014.

The adoption of the treaty followed a Europe-wide campaign by the Council in 2005 to combat violence against women.

The Convention is based on the understanding that violence against women is a form of violence against women and is committed against women because they are women. The Convention states that it is the obligations of states to address this form of violence in all its forms and to take measures to prevent violence against women.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell Fontelles said on Twitter on Saturday: ‘We cannot but regret deeply and express incomprehension towards the decision of the Turkish government to withdraw from this convention. We urge Turkey to reverse its decision.’

Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Buric stated: ‘Turkey‘s announced withdrawal from the Council of Europe‘s Istanbul Convention on violence against women is devastating news.’

Buric added : ‘The Istanbul Convention covers 34 European countries and is widely regarded as the gold standard in international efforts to protect women and girls from the violence that they face every day in our societies.

This move is a huge setback to these efforts and all the more deplorable because it compromises the protection of women in Turkey, across Europe and beyond.’