Strasbourg, 25 Nov. (AKI) – Europe’s top human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe on Tuesday urged national legislatures to pass laws to protect women from domestic violence. The watchdog’s parliamentary assembly (PACE) issued a statement to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
“Too many women in Europe are battered and killed by their partners or former partners, simply because they are women,” PACE President Lluis Maria de Puig said in the statement.
“No Council of Europe member state is immune. It is time to put a stop to this repeated, widespread violation of human rights. National parliaments must pass the requisite laws.
“At European level, there is an urgent need to strengthen protection for victims, prosecute those who perpetrate violence and take measures to prevent it,” he added.
De Puig urged the Council of Europe to draft a convention to combat the most serious and widespread forms of violence against women, in particular domestic violence and forced marriages.
The United Nations General Assembly in 1999 designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and invited governments, international organizations and NGOs to organise activities to raise public awareness of the problem on that day.
Women’s activists have marked the day against violence since 1981. It was created after the brutal assassination in 1960, of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, on the orders of Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo.
PACE is made up of elected members of parliament from Council of Europe member states, as well as from their opposition parties.
It only has the power to investigate, recommend and advise but its recommendations on issues such as human rights have significant weight with European Union institutions including the European Parliament.
The Council of Europe, created in 1948, has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens. It is not part of the European Union.
Source: www.adnkronos.com, 13 December 2008