JOSÉ MENDES BOTA Deputado à Assembleia da República em representação da Região do Algarve Palácio de S. Bento 1249-068 Lisboa Telef: 213 917 282 Mail: mendesbota@psd.parlamento.pt RELATÓRIO Nº 103 Lisboa, 21/09/2014 ÂMBITO: ASSEMBLEIA PARLAMENTAR DO CONSELHO DA EUROPA (APCE) LOCAL: ROMA PARTIDA: 17 de Setembro de 2014 REGRESSO: 20 de Setembro de 2014 OBJECTIVO: Conferência sobre a Convenção de Istambul (APCE) (COM GALERIA DE FOTOS) No dia 18 de Setembro de 2014, participei num jantar-debate subordinado ao tema Committing to end violence against women in Europe and beyond, durante o qual usaram da palavra o Vice-Ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros de Itália, Benedetto Della Vedova, a Ministra da Solidariedade, Família e Assuntos das Mulheres da Argélia, Mounia Meslem Si Amer, e a Secretária Geral Adjunta do Conselho da Europa, Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni. No dia 19 de Setembro de 2014, participei na conferência subordinada ao tema Safe from Fear, Safe from Violence Celebrating the entry into force of the Istanbul Convention, organizada pelo Conselho da Europa, pelo Ministério Italiano dos Negócios Estrangeiros, e pela Câmara dos Deputados de Itália. Fui o moderador da II Sessão dos trabalhos, que teve como tema The Istanbul Convention: the «gold standard» in fighting violence against women, tendo presidido aos trabalhos e feito as intervenções inerentes à função. Esta sessão, que ocupou a maior parte do tempo da conferência, abordou três sub-temas: - Integrated policies: creating an institutional architecture to eliminate violence against women ; - Prosecution: bringing justice home for all women victims of violence ; - Protection: weaving a safety net around victims and women at risk. Durante as minhas intervenções moderadoras, tive ocasião de ir afirmando: The Istanbul Convention has been defined as the golden standard in fighting violence against women. This definition was not created by anyone involved in the elaboration of the Convention whether the Parliamentary Assembly, the Ad Hoc 1
Committee which negotiated the text or anyone else from the Council of Europe and its member States. That would have been pretentious. In fact, it was Mr Lakshmi Puri, acting head of UN Women, who did so, last year in New York, at the Commission on the Status of Women the main focus of the CSW in 2013 was precisely violence against women and girls. The Istanbul Convention has indeed innovative features which make it a sophisticated, far-reaching text and a major reference, a standard to which many countries are looking at, including beyond the boundaries of our Continent. I take this opportunity to remind you that the Convention is open to accession by non-council of Europe member states: it is not meant as a solely European instrument, but one with a much larger potential scope. We have a variety of subjects to cover in this session and a number of high-level speaker We will also learn more on the Integrated policies. This is one the 4 Ps on which the Istanbul Convention is based, together with Prevention, Protection and Prosecution. It is indeed one of the innovative elements of the Convention, aimed to complement and strengthen the other P s, precisely by «creating an institutional architecture to eliminate violence against women». The Istanbul Convention requires State parties to cooperate closely with the civil society. Indeed, it advocates cooperation between all stakeholders, among other things to ensure effective knowledge of the problem. Being aware of the prevalence of violence against women, having accurate data on victims, perpetrators, types of violence, is crucial to all those who are involved in fighting it. Prosecution is also crucial: effectively prosecuting perpetrators of violence against women means ending impunity, which for a longtime was rife, and «bringing justice home» for victims. We will also talk about Protection. We know that violence against women is around us, in the streets, in the workplace and at home. We also know all too well that violence tends to escalate. There may be early signs, then various forms of violence becoming more and more severe. If victims are aware of their rights and of the risk they run, if they cry for help, what must be done to protect them? In other words, how to «weave a safety net around them»? Assembleia da República, 21 de Setembro de 2014 José Mendes Bota 2
GALERIA DE FOTOS MENDES BOTA PRESIDINDO AOS TRABALHOS ASPECTO DA AUDIÊNCIA 3
VÁRIAS DEPUTADAS DA NETWORK WOMEN FREE FROM VIOLENCE GABRIELLA BATTAINI-DRAGONI, SECRETÁRIA GERAL ADJUNTA DO CONSELHO DA EUROPA NO USO DA PALAVRA 4
ANNE BRASSEUR, PRESIDENTE DA ASSEMBLEIA PARLAMENTAR DO CONSELHO DA EUROPA FEZ UM RASGADO ELOGIO AO CONTRIBUTO DE MENDES BOTA PARA A CONVENÇÃO DE ISTAMBUL MENDES BOTA COM LAURA BOLDRINI, PRESIDENTE DA CÂMARA DOS DEPUTADOS DE ITÁLIA 5
MENDES BOTA, PARTICIPANDO NOS TRABALHOS AO LADO DE GIOGIO LODDO, ASSESSOR DA APCE 6
COM AS MINISTRA DOS ASSUNTOS SOCIAIS DA TURQUIA E DA ARGÉLIA, E VÁRIAS DEPUTADAS e DEPUTADO 7