Tunisia-Tunisia invited to accede to Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women

This step came following the expression of interest by the respective authorities

“The signatories to the Convention recognise, inter alia, that it is the responsibility of the state to combat violence against women effectively and that it is necessary to prevent it, protect victims and prosecute the perpetrators,” a press release issued by the Council of Europe Office in Tunis reads.

According to the Council of Europe, combating violence against women is one of the priorities of the Council of Europe’s Neighbourhood Partnership with Tunisia for 2018-2021. It is also one of the objectives of the South Programme, jointly financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the latter.

In recent years, Tunisia has carried out important reforms in this area, notably with the adoption of the Organic Law 2017-58 on the elimination of violence against women, according to the same source.

“The fight against violence against women takes different forms and involves many actors. The Council of Europe, through the Istanbul Convention, is therefore promoting a multidisciplinary approach in order to build the capacity of all stakeholders involved,” the same source reads.

The Council of Europe recalled, in the same press release, that they are building the capacities of key Tunisian partners in the fields of preventing and combating violence against women through the Human Rights Training Programme for Legal Professionals (HELP).

The aim here is to ensure that these stakeholders take ownership of a multidisciplinary approach focused on the victim in order to guarantee his or her protection.

In accordance with the decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of April 10, 2013 (1168th meeting), the validity of an invitation to accede to a convention is limited to a period of five years from the date of the invitation.