Lawmakers in the Czech Republic's upper house Senate narrowly voted against ratifying a decade-old international treaty aimed at preventing and combating violence against women.
The vote late on January 24, which fell two votes short of ratification, leaves the Czech Republic among the minority of European countries that have signed the treaty—the Istanbul Convention—but not ratified it. Czech conservative opponents of the treaty have objected to it deviating from what they call "traditional roles" for men and women in society, and they say it has not reduced violence in countries that have ratified it.
The convention, forged by the Council of Europe and its dozens of member states, recognizes violence against women as a violation of human rights and covers various forms of gender-based violence. Czech European Affairs Minister Martin Dvorak called the rejection an "international disgrace."
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