The NCW calls for the full ratification – without reservations – of the Council of Europe Convention on Combatting Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (‘Istanbul Convention’).
The Istanbul Convention is a legally-binding ‘gold standard’ roadmap for tackling violence against women and domestic abuse. The UK government signed, but did not ratify, the Istanbul Convention in 2012. In 2020, NCW called on the government to take all necessary steps to ratify the Istanbul Convention. [1] The Convention was ratified in July 2022 and will come into force on 1 November 2022. [2]
However, the UK has reserved the right not to apply the provisions laid down in Article 44, paragraph 3 and Article 59 of the Convention. [3] Therefore, despite branding itself a ‘world leader’ in preventing violence against women, the UK will not join the fourteen countries that have ratified the Convention without reservations. [4]
In practice, the reservation applied to Article 44(3) means that UK nationals and residents who commit certain crimes (including rape) abroad cannot be prosecuted under UK law. The reservation applied to Article 59 means that migrant women whose immigration status depends on an abusive partner cannot seek support without facing potential deportation (see Appendix i., ii.).
These opt-outs can be extended indefinitely. The UK government has made no suggestion that the reservation to Article 44 will be removed. The Home Secretary suggested that the reservation to Article 59 will be ‘considered’ after the conclusion of the Support for Migrant Victims Scheme (see Appendix ii.a.), but has set no explicit condition for, or commitment to, its ratification. [5] Furthermore, peers, activists and lawyers have pointed out that there is no ‘direct connection’ between the Scheme and the government’s reservation to Article 59. [6] In June 2022, the House of Lords International Agreements Committee found no justification for the government’s reservation to Article 59. [7]
The NCW calls for the UK government to remove its reservations to Articles 44(3) and 59 of the Istanbul Convention. In lieu of immediate action, it calls for the government to set out the explicit conditions under which the reservations will be withdrawn, and provide a timeline for doing so.
The NCW also aligns itself with the #AllWomenMeansAllWomen campaign led by IC Change. [8]
Appendix
- On Article 44(3)
Article 44 relates to the prosecution of UK citizens or residents for crimes committed outside of UK territory (extraterritorial jurisdiction). The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 brought the UK into compliance with Article 44(1), which requires the UK enact measures for prosecuting UK citizens and residents in the UK for certain crimes committed overseas. [1]
The UK is making reservations on Article 44(3), which states that a ‘dual criminality requirement’ would not apply for crimes including rape, forced marriage FGM, forced abortion, and forced sterilisation. The UK therefore cannot prosecute UK citizens and residents for committing certain acts in another country which are crimes in UK law, but not under the law of that country. This is because, according to a government explanatory memorandum, ‘dual criminality is the norm in UK law when dealing with extraterritorial jurisdiction’. [2]
The UK has existing dual criminality exceptions for forced marriage and for FGM; UK citizens and residents can be prosecuted in UK law for committing these crimes abroad. However, UK citizens and residents who commit crimes of sexual violence, including rape, forced abortion or forced sterilisation while abroad cannot be prosecuted under UK law.
There has so far been no indication that this reservation may be removed.
- On Article 59
Article 59 would compel the government to enact measures to protect migrant victims of violence whose residency status is dependent on an abusive spouse or partner – including by halting deportations of these victims and allowing them to apply for autonomous residence permits.
Migrant women are, according to the campaign group IC change, one of the groups most reliant on the Convention’s protections. [3] Many fear deportation – research by the Latin American Women’s Rights Service found that two-thirds of the migrant women surveyed in London had been threatened with deportation by their partners if they reported the violence. [4]
‘No woman should have to choose between escaping abuse and possibly being deported’, argues Hillary Margolis, senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. [5] The reservation to Article 59 creates a two-tier system where migrant women are given lesser status and lesser protection, undermining the universality of human rights.
- Relevance of the Support for Migrant Victims Scheme
The government claims to be awaiting the results of the Support Migrant Victims Scheme before it will ‘consider whether that reservation [to Article 59] will continue’. [6] However, multiple commentators state that the Scheme’s results are not relevant to the reservation to Article 59.
The pilot Scheme, which concluded in March 2022, was an interim measure to cover the cost of supporting migrant victims in refuges or other safe accommodation. The issue underlying the Scheme is the ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ status applied to people on spousal or partner visas, which makes them ineligible for most government benefits (see Immigration and Asylum Act 1999). Refuges usually rely on government housing benefits, meaning that many cannot accept victims with NRPF. [7] Yet, the Istanbul Convention necessitates that services and support for victims must be provided regardless of residency or immigration status (Article 4[3]). The pilot Scheme intended to find a long-term solution for this. A final report was due in June, before the Scheme was extended by a further year – meaning it is unsure when a report will be drafted that supposedly is required for considering the reservation Article 59. Unfortunately, the organisation implementing the Scheme already described it as ‘wholly inadequate’ and states that the ‘Pilot Project will not produce evidence that is not already available’. [8]
The Scheme is related to provisions for migrant women, but in the sense that it covers the fiscal question of making services available to those ineligible for government benefits. The reservation to Article 59, meanwhile, relates to the issue of deportation: its enaction would mean that migrant women whose residency is tied to their abusive partner would not be deported for leaving their relationship.
Labour peer Dianna Hayter, IC Change co-director Robyn Boosey, and solicitor Kate Ellis are among those who point out that there is no ‘direct connection’ between the reservation and the pilot Scheme. [9] Furthermore, in June 2022, the House of Lords International Agreements Committee said:
‘[We] do not see any justification for the reservation to the Article that provides for the granting of autonomous residency permits to women who have suffered domestic violence and abuse, but who depend on their spouse or partner for their residence status. We regret that the Government has not ensured that the Convention can be ratified without such reservation and recommend that it be subject to review at the earliest opportunity, with clear criteria established for when the reservation might be withdrawn.’ [10]
Sources
Resolution
[1] See Helena Trenkić, Gwenda Kibble, ‘Urgent UK Ratification of the Istanbul Convention’. National Council of Women of Great Britain, Annual Conference 2020.
[2] ‘The United Kingdom ratifies the Istanbul Convention’. Council of Europe Newsroom(21 July 2022). Online, https://www.coe.int/en/web/istanbul-convention/-/the-united-kingdom-ratifies-the-istanbul-convention.
[3] United Kingdom, Reservations and Declarations for Treaty No. 210 – Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CETS No. 210). Council of Europe Treaty Office. Online, https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=declarations-by-treaty&numSte=210&codeNature=2&codePays=UK.
[4] See ‘Tackling violence against women and girls strategy’. HM Government, Home Office(July 2021), p. 45. Available online, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-violence-against-women-and-girls-strategy. The countries to ratify the Convention without reservations are Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain. ‘Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 210’. Council of Europe Treaty Office. Online, https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=signatures-by-treaty&treatynum=210.
[5] Priti Patel (Secretary of State for the Home Department). House of Commons. Hansard, statement UIN HCWS34 (17 May 2022). https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-05-17/hcws34
[6] Ben van der Merwe, ‘“No justification” for suspending rights of migrant abuse victims, peers say’. The New Statesman (17 June 2022). Online, https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2022/06/peers-tory-plans-protections-migrant-victims-domestic-abuse.
[7] ‘Scrutiny of international agreements: Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence’. House of Lords International Agreements Committee. 2nd Report of Session 2022-23, HL Paper 24 (June 2022), p. 2. Available online, https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/22691/documents/166761/default.
[8] ‘Letter to Home Secretary: over 80 organisations call for ratification of the Istanbul Convention without reservations’. IC Change (30 May 2022). Online, https://icchange.co.uk/allwomenletter.
Appendix
[1] See ‘Implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Combating Violence Against Women and Girls and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) – 2021 Report on Progress’. HM Government, Home Office (November 2021), p. 43.
[2] ‘Explanatory Memorandum on Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence’. Command Paper No CP 674, section 9.2-9.9. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (17 May 2022). Available from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/council-of-europe-convention-on-preventing-and-combating-violence-against-women-and-domestic-violence-ms-no32022.
[3] ‘Letter to Home Secretary: over 80 organisations call for ratification of the Istanbul Convention without reservations’. IC Change (30 May 2022). Online, https://icchange.co.uk/allwomenletter. See also ‘#ProtectionForAll: The Domestic Abuse Bill and Migrant Women: Briefing Paper 2’. Southall Black Sisters, p. 1. Online, https://southallblacksisters.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/DA-Bill-Briefing-Paper-2.pdf.
[4] Cathy McIlwaine, Lucila Granada and Illary Valenzuela-Oblitas, ‘The Right to Be Believed: Migrant women facing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in the ‘hostile immigration environment’ in London’. King’s College London and the Latin American Women’s Rights Service (May 2019), p. 4.
[5] ‘UK: Tackling Violence against Some Women, But Not All’. Human Rights Watch News (22 July 2022). Online, https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/07/22/uk-tackling-violence-against-some-women-not-all.
[6] Priti Patel (Secretary of State for the Home Department). House of Commons. Hansard, statement UIN HCWS34 (17 May 2022). Available online, https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-05-17/hcws34.
[7] ‘Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse: Review Findings’. Home Office (2020). Available online, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/897472/Migrant_Victims_of_Domestic_Abuse_-_Review_Findings_v.3._FINAL.pdf. See also ‘UK Failing Domestic Abuse Victims in Pandemic: Enact Legislation Protecting Those Most At Risk’. Human Rights Watch (2020).
[8] ‘SBS Reasserts Demand for Protection for Migrant Women in The Domestic Abuse Bill’. Southall Black Sisters (27 May 2020). https://southallblacksisters.org.uk/news/sbs-reasserts-demand-for-protection-for-migrant-women-in-the-domestic-abuse-bill/.
[9] Ben van der Merwe, ‘“No justification” for suspending rights of migrant abuse victims, peers say’. The New Statesman (17 June 2022). Online, https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2022/06/peers-tory-plans-protections-migrant-victims-domestic-abuse.
[10] ‘Scrutiny of international agreements: Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence’. House of Lords International Agreements Committee. 2nd Report of Session 2022-23, HL Paper 24 (June 2022), p. 2. Available online, https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/22691/documents/166761/default.
Proposer Speech – Helena Trenkić
This motion was written as a follow-up to the motion I proposed in October 2020 calling on the government to urgently ratify the Istanbul Convention – a Council of Europe Convention on Combatting Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence.
In July 2022, ten long years after signing, the UK government ratified the Convention. This means that the Convention came into force on 1 November 2022, and we have a legal obligation under international law to implement its provisions.
However, each State party to the Convention may make reservations towards certain articles. There are fourteen countries that have ratified the Convention without reservations, but the UK has decided not to join them and instead has applied reservations to Article 44, paragraph 3, and Article 59 of the Convention. The detail is available in my Resolution and its Appendix, but, essentially these opt-outs mean that a) UK nationals and residents who commit certain crimes abroad, including rape, cannot be prosecuted under UK law; and b) migrant women whose immigration status depends on an abusive partner cannot seek support without facing potential deportation.
I have corresponded with members of the House of Lords, members of the campaign group IC Change, and other interested parties, and nobody can identify a good reason for these opt-outs. They can be extended indefinitely – and as long as they are, vulnerable women are not being fully protected against violence. Therefore, this resolution calls for the UK government to remove its reservations and fully ratify the Convention. In lieu of immediate action, it calls for the government to set out the explicit conditions under which the reservations will be withdrawn, and provide a timeline for doing so – we currently have no indication of this.
I understand that this resolution is relatively technical and therefore might not have been the easiest or most enjoyable to read. But I would like to emphasise that gold standards in international law such as this Convention are one of the best methods we have for tackling the scourge of gender-based violence, and it is important that they are implemented fully. Secondly, it is through exactly this sort of technical opt-out that governments can obviate themselves of protecting those people it doesn’t find politically useful to protect, such as migrant women, who are as deserving of basic human rights as you and I. Technical issues such as this, even when they have great practical impact, can slip under the radar. This resolution wants to reiterate that, as an organisation and a movement, we won’t accept this. I therefore urge you to vote in favour of the resolution.
Seconder Speech – Gwenda Kibble
This resolution, supported by detailed research, enables NCWGB to challenge government. It exemplifies NCW’s concern for the vulnerable and its desire to seek fairness. At an international level we should be seen to champion these issues and encourage others to do so. I therefore commend this resolution to the membership and in seconding it urge your support.
Proposer: Helena Trenkić, NCW Network 18-25 Member
Seconder: Gwenda Kibble, Co-ordinator NCW Network 18-25
Submitted by: Helena Trenkić, NCW Network 18-25 Member