EU urges Turkey to return to treaty on women's rights

Brussels, March 21 The European Union's (EU) top diplomat and the President of the EU Commission on Sunday condemned Turkey's decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on women's rights.

EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen called on all signatories to ratify the convention on Twitter on Sunday, dpa news agency reported.

"Women deserve a strong legal framework to protect them," she said.

"Violence against women is not tolerable."

EU Foreign Affairs envoy Josep Borrell expressed regret and incomprehension over the decision to withdraw on Saturday and urged Turkey to change its decision.

"We hope that Turkey will soon join again the European Union in defending the rights of women and girls, a fundamental element of human rights, peace, security and equality in the 21st century," Borrell said in a statement.

The Istanbul Convention, a treaty developed by the non-EU organization Council of Europe in 2011, aims to create a legal framework to prevent and fight against violence against women and domestic violence.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the convention in Istanbul when he was still Prime Minister, and it was later ratified in the country.

However, according to the country's We Will Stop Femicide Platform, the convention was never applied.

According to the platform, at least 300 women were murdered by men in Turkey last year alone.

( With inputs from IANS )