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coordinating the Parliamentary Network Women Free from Violence. The Network is composed of members of the delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
They meet during the sessions of the Assembly in Strasbourg and commit to promote the Convention at both international and national levels. Network members organised seminars on the Istanbul Convention in their national parliaments. They are one of the voices of the Convention. I wish to thank the Network members present here today for their work and dedication and encourage them to continue their efforts.
The Network created a series of promotional tools which I am glad to present to you today: a handbook for parliamentarians, available on line and also in this room in 10 languages including English, French, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese and Spanish, a website and a facebook page where you can follow the latest developments and news in the area of combating violence against women and domestic violence.
We do not focus on a specific form of violence, but on all forms of violence covered by the Istanbul Convention. We have recently had reports on protection orders, psychological violence, and soon one on stalking prepared by Ms Wurm. The Network held hearings, among others, on police response and support to women victims of violence, rape, women refugees and the Istanbul Convention and so-called honour crimes.
We try to promote the Convention by raising awareness on its provisions.
The Convention defines newly recognised forms of violence such as psychological violence, stalking.
Forced marriage is presented as a form of violence. A ground-breaking element of the Convention is that socalled honour or tradition can no longer be presented as a justification for violence, and this is the approach supported at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
One of the main challenges is to continue raising awareness on the urgency to prevent and combat violence against women. Ensuring that States give an appropriate response and support to victims with the effective application of existing legislation and the adaptation of the national legal frameworks to the Istanbul Convention is another important challenge.
The entry into force of the Istanbul Convention and its implementation at the national level are key objectives for us, we are therefore focusing our efforts to this end.
As parliamentarians, we are given a great power, which is speaking time in the hemicycle, in the media and at conferences such as today’s event. This time has to be used in order to convey messages and convince the audiences that violence against women cannot be tolerated. With our words, we can help the victims have a voice and break the silence.
Violence against women is not a fatality. Concrete actions can be taken. We now have a powerful tool in our hands: the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
Words of a parliamentarian are not just any words.
They can mean action. They can bring change.
I therefore call on all of you present here today to use your voice for all the victims of violence and trigger change. You can ask for concrete change by calling for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention.

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Relatório elaborado pelo Deputado Mota Amaral, do PSD, relativo à sua participação nos trabalhos da reunião da Comissão dos Assuntos Políticos e da Democracia da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa, que decorreu em Rabat, Marrocos, nos dias 13 e 14 de março de 2013

1. Participei na reunião da Comissão dos Assuntos Políticos da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa, em Rabat, Marrocos, nos dias 13 e 14 do corrente mês de março.
2. Os Presidentes das duas Câmaras do Parlamento marroquino abriram os trabalhos, pronunciando discursos de saudação, nos quais apresentaram o panorama da situação política e social do país, insistindo no compromisso nacional no sentido da democratização.