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Sábado, 23 de novembro de 2013 II Série-D — Número 6
XII LEGISLATURA 3.ª SESSÃO LEGISLATIVA (2013-2014)
S U M Á R I O
Delegações e Deputações da Assembleia da República:
— Relatório elaborado pelo Deputado Mendes Bota, do PSD, relativo à sua participação numa fact finding mission no âmbito da elaboração do relatório sobre “Tráfico de Seres Humanos e Prostituição” da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa (APCE), que decorreu em Genève e Berna, nos dias 25 e 26 de setembro.
— Relatório elaborado pelo Deputado João Amaral, do PSD, relativo à sua participação nos trabalhos da Comissão dos Assuntos Políticos da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa, que decorreu em Lisboa, nos dias 6, 7 e 8 do mês de novembro.
— Relatório elaborado pelo Deputado Mendes Bota, do PSD, relativo à sua participação em duas conferências organizadas pela Autonomous Women’s Center, da Sérvia,
no âmbito da celebração do 20.º aniversário desta organização não governamental dedicada aos direitos das mulheres, da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa (APCE), que decorreu em Belgrado, nos dias 10 e 11 de novembro de 2013.
— Relatório elaborado pelo Deputado Mendes Bota, do PSD, relativo à sua participação numa fact finding mission da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa (APCE), que decorreu em Haia e Amsterdão, nos dias 14 e 15 de novembro de 2013.
— Relatório elaborado pelo Deputado Fernando Negrão, do PSD, relativo à Delegação da Assembleia da República que participou na reunião da Comissão para a Promoção da Qualidade de Vida e Intercâmbios Humanos e da Cultura da Assembleia Parlamentar da União para o Mediterrâneo, que teve lugar em Roma a 15 de novembro.
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DELEGAÇÕES E DEPUTAÇÕES DA ASSEMBLEIA DA REPÚBLICA
Relatório elaborado pelo Deputado Mendes Bota, do PSD, relativo à sua participação numa fact
finding missionno âmbito da elaboração do relatório sobre “Tráfico de Seres Humanos e Prostituição”
da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa (APCE), que decorreu em Genève e Berna, nos
dias 25 e 26 de setembro
RELATÓRIO N.º 82
Na minha condição de relator sobre a temática “Prostitution and Human Trafficking in Europe”, desloquei-
me à Suíça para uma “fact finding mission”, país onde a prostituição foi legalizada.
No dia 25 de Setembro de 2013, em Genebra, tive reuniões com as seguintes entidades:
— Laurence Hart, Chefe da Divisão de Assistência aos Migrantes, da Organização Internacional para as
Migrações;
— Jane Connors, Chefe do Departamento de Procedimentos Especiais do Gabinete do Alto Comissário
para os Direitos Humanos, das Nações Unidas.
Já em Berna, reuni com as seguintes entidades:
— Kathrin Hilber, presidente do Grupo de Especialistas para a esfera erótica;
— Boris Mesaric, Chefe da Unidade Suíça de Coordenação contra o Tráfico de Pessoas e Exploração de
Migrantes;
— Ursina Jud Huwiler, Chefe da Divisão do mercado laboral Suiço Alemão;
— Anna Wildt, colaboradora científica da Divisão de Política Humanitária e das Migrações no
Departamento Federal de Assuntos Externos;
— Irene Hirzel, da ONG “Mission chrétienne pour les Pays de l’Est”;
— Deputada Liliane Maury Pasquier, chefe da Delegação da Suíça na Assembleia Parlamentar do
Conselho da Europa;
— Deputado André Bugnon;
— Deputada Francine John-Calame;
— Deputada Yvonne Feri
No dia 26 de Setembro de 2013, reuni com as seguintes entidades:
— Laurent Knubel, Vice-Presidente da Unidade Suíça de Coordenação contra o Tráfico de Pessoas e a
Exploração de Migrantes;
— Anita Marfurt, jurista do Departamento Federal de Justiça e Polícia;
— Sarah Wildi, Procuradora Geral do Cantão de Berna;
— Adrien Lobsiger, Comissário da Polícia Criminal do Cantão de Berna;
— Martin Fluckiger, Comissário da Polícia Criminal do Cantão de Berna;
— Jurg Schaublin, da Polícia Criminal do Cantão de Berna;
— Deputada Marianne Streiff-Feller,;
— Deputado Balthasar Glattli
Assembleia da República, 9 de Outubro de 2013.
O Deputado do PSD, José Mendes Bota.
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Relatório elaborado pelo Deputado João Amaral, do PSD, relativo à sua participação nos trabalhos
da Comissão dos Assuntos Políticos da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa, que decorreu
em Lisboa, nos dias 6, 7 e 8 do mês de novembro
RELATÓRIO
1. Participei nos trabalhos da Comissão dos Assuntos Políticos da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho
da Europa, em Lisboa, nos dias 6, 7 e 8 de Novembro.
2. A Comissão designou-me membro da Subcomissão ad hoc para acompanhar o Fórum Lisboa 2013,
organizado pelo Centro Norte-Sul do Conselho da Europa. Nesta qualidade estive presente no Centro Ismaili
na tarde do dia 6 e na amanhã do dia 7, verificando que foram muito interessantes os debates entre os
participantes, provenientes de diversos países europeus e do Norte de África, abrangendo temas relacionados
com a construção da democracia e o protagonismo das instituições da sociedade civil em diálogo com
Parlamentos e governos.
3. A reunião da Comissão ocorreu na sexta-feira 8 e decorreu também, por razões práticas, no Centro
Ismaili. A primeira parte foi preenchida com a Conferência Interparlamentar sobre a responsabilidade das
instituições representativas nas mudanças políticas no Sul do Mediterrâneo e no Médio Oriente. Participaram
delegações dos Parlamentos de Marrocos, Argélia, Tunísia, Jordânia, Líbano, Israel, Palestina e de partidos
políticos do Egipto.
4. A Conferência foi inaugurada com um discurso da Presidente da Assembleia da República, que não se
ficou por considerações protocolares mas abordou as questões de fundo da construção da democracia e dos
direitos do homem, que estão no centro da missão do Conselho da Europa e são afinal, como sublinhou,
aspiração comum dos homens e das mulheres do nosso tempo. Discursou também o Presidente da
Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa, em visita oficial a Portugal e os presidentes das duas
câmaras do Parlamento de Marrocos.
5. A Conferência desenrolou-se em redor de duas sessões de trabalhos sobre os seguintes temas:
“Desafios da Transição: experiências nacionais” e “ Acompanhando as transições: o que podem oferecer os
parceiros internacionais?”. Os delegados participantes intervieram com vivacidade num debate bastante
interessante. Coube-me fazer o resumo conclusivo da Conferência. O texto da minha intervenção figura em
anexo, tendo nele incluído uma referência expressa à dramática situação na Síria, por sugestão muito
oportuna da Presidente Assunção Esteves.
6. A agenda da reunião da Comissão incluía a consideração dos pedidos de adesão ao estatuto de
parceiros para a democracia dos parlamentos da Jordânia e do Quirguistão. A situação na Síria foi também
objeto de debate, analisando-se a evolução da crise e a situação das minorias cristãs.
7. A Comissão, no final dos seus trabalhos, visitou a Assembleia da República, onde foi acolhida segundo
as antigas tradições portuguesas de hospitalidade, por todos os membros muito apreciadas.
Lisboa, 8 de Novembro de 2013.
O Deputado do PSD, Mota Amaral.
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Relatório elaborado pelo Deputado Mendes Bota, do PSD, relativo à sua participação em duas
conferências organizadas pela Autonomous Women’s Center, da Sérvia, no âmbito da celebração do
20.º aniversário desta organização não governamental dedicada aos direitos das mulheres, da
Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa (APCE), que decorreu em Belgrado, nos dias 10 e 11
de novembro de 2013.
RELATÓRIO N.º 87
Na qualidade de orador convidado, participei em duas conferências organizadas pela Autonomous
Women’s Center, da Sérvia, no âmbito da celebração do 20.º aniversário desta organização não
governamental dedicada aos direitos das mulheres.
Na primeira conferência, realizada no Parlamento da Sérvia a 10 de Novembro de 2013, subordinada ao
tema “Coordinated efforts – Toward new European standards in protection of women from gender based
violence”, fiz uma intervenção de introdução a esta problemática, cujo texto consta do Anexo A do presente
relatório.
Na segunda conferência, realizada a 11 de Novembro de 2013, na Câmara de Comércio da Sérvia,
subordinada ao tema “How women’s movements influenced state policies”, fiz uma intervenção cujo texto
consta do Anexo B do presente relatório, e que ocorreu no contexto do painel intitulado “Establishment and
sustainability of services o women’s organisations”, sendo que o meu discurso versou sobre “Participation of
women NGO’s in the process of creation of Istanbul Convention and its promotion”.
Neste painel intervieram também Rashida Manjoo, Relatora Especial das Nações Unidas para a Violência
contra as Mulheres, e Rosa Logar, fundadora da organização WAVE Europe.
No debate que se seguiu, fiz uma segunda intervenção em resposta a várias questões suscitadas pela
audiência.
Assembleia da República, 31 de Outubro de 2013
O Deputado do PSD, José Mendes Bota.
ANEXO A
Speech by Mr Mendes Bota, General Rapporteur on Violence against Women,
Political Coordinator of the Parliamentary Network Women free from violence,
First Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination,
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Conference dedicated to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence
against women and domestic violence
“Coordinated efforts – Toward new European standards in protection of women from gender based
violence”
Belgrade, Serbia, 10 November 2013
BREAKING THE VICIOUS CIRCLE
Dear President, Dear colleagues, distinguished participants,
I am grateful to the organizers of this conference for bringing together a group of high level representatives
of the institutions as well as members of the civil society, including experts and non-governmental organisations
deeply committed to fighting gender-based violence in this region.
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First of all, I wish to congratulate the Parliament of Serbia for completing the process of ratification of the
Istanbul Convention. This is the kind of encouraging news that I am happy to learn!
I am thankful for the invitation, because this conference gives me the opportunity to ask such competent and
committed people a question that often comes to my mind:
Why is violence against women so widespread? Why have we not yet succeeded in eradicating this
scourge, when we all agree that it’s unacceptable and cannot be tolerated in the civilized world that we think we
inhabit?
I would be happy to know your opinion on this, and I am ready to give you mine:
Violence against women is so widespread and deep rooted, because it develops and perpetuates itself
through a vicious circle.
The vicious circle of gender inequality and violence against women
Violence against women is the effect of a power imbalance between women and men. This applies both to
the individuals involved in a single case of violence, and to society at large. There is an imbalance of power
between the victim of violence, who in most cases is a woman, and the perpetrator, who is generally a man.
There is also an imbalance of power between women and men in the workplace and in other spheres of daily
life. To put things very simply: whenever, within a couple, one of the partners earns less than the other, or has
no income at all, she or he will be weaker and less able to defend their rights.
We all know that - in most cases - the partner with a lower income is the woman.
Gender inequality makes violence against women more difficult to acknowledge even by their victims, more
difficult to report and therefore more difficult to address.
The Istanbul Convention recognizes this idea and states in its preamble that violence against women is a
manifestation of historically unequal power relations between women and men, which have led to domination
over, and discrimination against, women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women.
At the same time, violence against women is a major obstacle to gender equality. As long as violence
against women exists, there cannot be equal opportunities between women and men - much less de facto
equality. I don’t have much to add to this statement. Or perhaps I can put it in simply: what is the point of a
woman being able to participate in public life, working and even – hypothetically - receiving the same wage as a
man, if when she comes back home she is the victim of violence at the hands of her partner?
This is the vicious circle that we face: violence against women is the result of gender inequality; in turn,
unequal gender relations generate more violence against women and impunity for perpetrators.
We must break this vicious circle.
How can we do it? By addressing the two elements of this equation at the same time. Tackling gender
inequality and combating violence against women must go hand in hand.
It sounds like a difficult task, you might say, and it certainly is.
However, I have good news to share with you. The Istanbul Convention provides us with a wide range of
tools and measures to work on these two fronts. The Convention was designed with exactly this aim in mind. Its
preamble says explicitly that the realization of de jure and de facto equality between women and men is a key
element in the prevention of violence against women.
In fact, the first two aims of the Convention listed in Article 1, are to:
— “Protect women against all forms of violence, and prevent, prosecute and eliminate violence against
women and domestic violence;
and
— “Contribute to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and promote substantive
equality between women and men, including by empowering women”.
In other words, States parties to the Convention have a duty to act on both fronts to break the vicious circle I
have already mentioned.
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The golden standard
We are here to discuss new standards on how to fight violence against women. The Istanbul Convention is
the obvious reference. Earlier this year, , Ms Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Head of UN Women, defined the Istanbul
Convention as “the golden standard” in the field of fighting violence against women.
She was right. And we need to keep her words in mind. The Convention offers a set of golden rules and
measures that can be applied in a variety of countries. The status of women varies greatly between those
states which have signed the Convention. However, even though it is in different ways, they all share the
scourge of gender-based and domestic violence. They can all benefit from respecting the obligations the
guidelines set out in this text and the concrete measures that it indicates.
Let me underline another very important point. The Convention sets high standards and some of its
principles are entirely new to our countries’ legal systems. However, these standards are a minimum threshold.
Nothing prevents States from going even further. On the contrary, States parties are encouraged to widen the
scope of the norms, as I will explain to you in more detail.
For this reason, and because we find ourselves here today in a national Parliament and many of us are
parliamentarians, I will present the Istanbul Convention to you as it currently stands, but also how national
legislators can improve its measures while enforcing it.
The Istanbul Convention is a ground-breaking instrument for a number of reasons:
- It is based on 4 Ps.
We already know the first 3Ps from previous conventions:
- Preventing violence
- Protecting the victims
- Persecuting the perpetrators
But there is also a 4th P, standing for “policies”:
Integratedpolicies to counter violence against women, bringing together all the possible actors: public
authorities at national, regional and local level, civil society, as well as national human rights institutions. This
means that Ministries, state agencies and NGOs should not act alone but work out protocols for cooperation.
Violence against women and domestic violence must be tackled in a co-ordinated way. This is an expression of
the holistic approach on which the Convention is based;
— the Istanbul Convention recognizes violence against women as a violation of human rights and a form of
discrimination;
— it is the first international treaty to contain a definition of gender, which refers to “the socially constructed
roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men”. This
means that it is now recognized that women and men are not only biologically female or male, but that there is
also a socially constructed category of gender that assigns women and men their particular roles and
behaviors;
— it introduces a set of criminal offences such as female genital mutilation, forced marriage, psychological
violence, stalking, sexual harassment, sexual violence including rape, forced abortion and forced sterilization.
This means that states will have to define offences for these acts where they do not currently exist in their legal
systems.
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Implementation and monitoring
No matter how good the standards are, they are worthless if they are not implemented.
The Istanbul Convention adds value to its standards as it establishes a strong monitoring mechanism.
This mechanism will include two bodies:
- the GREVIO, Group of experts on action against violence against women and domestic violence, made
up of 10 to 15 members with a four year mandate;
- and the Committee of the Parties, composed of representatives of the State Parties to the Convention.
GREVIO members will be people competent in the fields of human rights, gender equality and violence
against women. They will have to be not only competent, but also independent in the exercise of their functions.
Parliaments will also be involved in monitoring the implementation of the Convention. Monitoring will be
based on reports submitted by the State parties, but also on information provided by the parliaments.
This involvement of parliamentarians is twofold: at national level, parliaments will participate in monitoring
the measures taken by the State parties to implement the Convention; at a European level, the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe will be invited to regularly take stock of the Convention. It will have the
opportunity to raise concerns, indicate shortcomings, draw attention to the need to turn specific provisions of
the Convention into reality.
This is another innovative element of this landmark convention. And it’s good news not only for us
parliamentarians, but for all citizens. In fact, it is in the best interests of everybody that elected representatives
be allowed to give their contribution to the very important task of monitoring the implementation of the
Convention.
Raising awareness: the Network
The role of Parliamentarians in countering violence against women has a wide scope. Each of them can be
proactive and re-invent their role on a daily basis. They can launch initiatives to raise awareness on the issue,
liaise with civil society to be constantly up to date with the situation in the field. As I mentioned, this kind of
information will also be useful when the Convention enters into force, and parliaments will contribute to the
monitoring.
We have set up a special body within the Council of Europe Assembly: the Parliamentary Network Women
free from Violence. This body was established to participate in the Council of Europe campaign on Violence
against Women, in 2006-2008. Its members have organized literally hundreds of awareness raising initiatives.
That was really a thrilling time for all those who believe in this cause. At the end of the Campaign, we realized
that we needed to go ahead with the same great team and in the same line of work. The Parliamentary Network
is now represented in almost all Council of Europe member states and in our “Partner for democracy”
parliaments, the Parliament of Morocco and the Palestinian National Council.
Network members share information on legislation and policies in their respective countries. They organize
events and initiatives in the parliaments.
The Network has published a huge amount of information material. Just consider that our Handbook for
Parliamentarians on the Istanbul Convention, which can actually also be very useful for NGOs and other
stakeholders, is now available in 13 languages! For that, we have to thank the voluntary contributions of a
number of parliaments and other donors.
We have a Facebook page which is a precious source of information. I invite you all to “like” it and become
followers, as well as to subscribe our Newsletter, or to attend the auditions, conferences and auditions we
regularly organize to discuss with experts, victims or witnesses specific aspects of violence against women.
Going beyond the standards
The Convention is a golden standard. It has a wide scope and far-reaching objectives.
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Its provisions cover women and girls, from any background, regardless of their age, race, religion, social
origin, migrant status or sexual orientation. There are groups of women and girls that are often at greater risk of
experiencing violence.
However, let me reiterate this: even if the Convention provides high standards, States are free to go well
beyond them!
- For instance, why not apply the Convention’s protection standards to other victims of domestic violence?
Women are by far the largest group of victims. But men, children and the elderly may also suffer at the hands of
their family members. They may need protection as well.
- The Convention includes a non-discrimination clause. Therefore, in my opinion it should also be applied
to women without regular residence status. In fact, this group is particularly at risk of violence and reluctant to
report it to the authorities, for fear of being expelled.
Conclusion
Dear President, Dear colleagues, distinguished participants,
, we came here today to discuss how to establish new European standards for the protection of women from
gender-based violence. These standards already exist and are embodied in the Istanbul Convention.
By enforcing this convention, we can break the vicious circle of gender inequality and violence against
women. This would be the best way to counter gender-based violence effectively.
To achieve this goal, we must reach the number of 10 ratifications for the Convention to enter into force. As
many as 32 Council of Europe member states have signed the Convention. Six have deposited the instrument
of ratification, Austria will do so on 14 November. I urge you to do your best to ensure that the instrument of
ratification of Serbia is also deposited as soon as possible. and two only need to deposit the ratification
instrument. Now that only two are missing, there is no time to waste.
I call on all of you to do your utmost for your respective countries to sign, if they have not already done so,
and ratify the Istanbul Convention.
We need the Convention to enter into force. Now it’s already too late.
Thank you.
ANEXO B
Speech by M. Mendes Bota, Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe at the International Conference on “How women’s movements
influenced state policies”, organized by the Autonomous Women’s Center
Belgrade, Serbia, 11th November 2013
“The Participation of Women’s NGOs in the process of creation
of the Istanbul Convention and its promotion”
Introduction
Dear Chairperson, Special Rapporteur, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished participants,
It is an honor for me to be here at this Conference and discuss with you the important role that non-
governmental organizations can play in the promotion of the Istanbul Convention and therefore, more generally,
in the fight on violence against women.
Everybody has a role to play in this fight: Governments, Parliamentarians, civil society and even individuals
can make a contribution. I came here today to tell you that NGOs have a crucial role to play.
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The Convention
The Istanbul Convention can be considered as a milestone in the fight on violence against women and
domestic violence. It is the result of years of collective efforts. We – civil society and national parliamentarians -
have been working on prevention.
We have spared no effort to raise awareness. After a long negotiation process, we achieved our first goal,
the opening for signature of a Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic
violence.
This was a further important step in the direction that we had been heading: better prevention, increased
awareness and a higher level of protection throughout Europe.
There are several reasons why this Convention is a ground-breaking instrument:
It recognizes violence against women as a violation of Human Rights and a form of discrimination;
It is the first international treaty to contain a definition of gender, which refers to “the socially constructed
roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men”;
It establishes a strong, independent mechanism to monitor its implementation at national level. This
mechanism will allow for parliamentary involvement, as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
will be invited to regularly take stock of the Convention.
It made clear that combating violence against women is also a Estate responsibility.
It defines criminal offences which are not yet included in all national legislative frameworks such as
female genital mutilation, forced marriage, stalking, psychological violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence
including marital rape, forced abortion and forced sterilization. It also covers a range of initiatives, from training
of professionals and collection of data to sufficient supply of shelters and national helplines;
It calls for the involvement of all relevant state agencies and services so that violence against women
and domestic violence are tackled in a coordinated way. This means that agencies and NGOs should not act
alone but establish protocols for cooperation.
The Convention aims to ensure that the needs and safety of victims are placed at the heart of all its
measures. It is a landmark instrument establishing high standards in the field of prevention, protection and
assistance for its victims, prosecution of the perpetrators and requiring coordinated policies.
As I said, it is a ground-breaking instrument.
BUT, we need the Convention to enter into force!
To date, the Convention has been signed by 32 countries. 6 of these have ratified, including Albania, Bosnia
and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Two parliaments have completed the ratification process, including that of
Serbia last week, which means that soon we will reach 8 ratifications.
Only two more are needed. We are really close to the next stage.
I know many people says laws and conventions are merely papers, and what it matters is to act on the field.
Yes, I agree, but still consider this “paper phase” essential for the whole process. If not, how could we force the
government to fulfill their obligations, without a binding international instrument?
The Network, a case of success
We have set up a specific tool to help us achieve this task: the Parliamentary Network “Women free from
Violence”. This Network is composed of 51 parliamentarians, belonging to delegations of member and observer
States within the Parliamentary Assembly, as well as the delegations of “Partners for democracy” (the
Moroccan parliament and the Palestinian National Council).
It has been active since 2006, when it contributed to the Council of Europe campaign Stop domestic
violence against women.
The Network has played an indefatigable role in trying to raise legal and policy standards in the area of the
prevention of violence against women, the protection of its victims and the effective prosecution of the
perpetrators. Since 2011, its main objective has been the promotion of the Istanbul Convention.
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Handbook and visibility material
To explain the Convention in simple terms, the Network has produced a handbook, which thanks to the
contributions of various countries, has now been translated into 15 languages. This Handbook is not only for
parliamentarians but for all those who want to know more about the Istanbul Convention without necessarily
being a specialist in this area of law and policy.
The Network has also published visibility material of various kinds: newsletters, leaflets and posters. It has
a Facebook page, which I warmly invite you to consult and “like”. We want to reach out to experts but also to
the general public, to increase their awareness and create general support for the Convention.
The role of NGOs in the elaboration of the Convention
As I mentioned, the Parliamentary Assembly took part in the campaign conducted by the Council of Europe
from 2006 to 2008 to combat violence against women.
That was the first time that all three political dimensions of the Council were involved: governments,
parliaments and NGOs contributed to this campaign in their different ways.
It was an excellent opportunity for parliamentarians to work side by side with non-governmental
organizations.
Later, when negotiations to draft the Istanbul Convention took place, many NGOs - Amnesty International
with Lisa Gormley, Human Rights Watch, ILGA, WAVE with Hilary Fisher and Rosa Logar, EIGE, European
Women’s Lobby with Marie-Jose Jonczy, or the European Group of National Human Rights Institutions, only to
name a few -, participated as observers.
In addition to this, the Council of Europe INGO Conference participated in the process, with Karin
Nordmeyer. We can safely say that a large share of Europe’s organizations were represented by the
Conference at the ad hoc committee which drafted the Convention, and gave substantial contributions to the
final text.
Then, when the Assembly adopted its opinion on the draft Convention, and I was appointed as Political Co-
ordinator of the Network, I kept in touch with those NGOs. I asked for their feedback on the amendments I
meant to propose. I received their comments. I took many of them on board.
What the Convention says about the role of NGOs
NGOs can make an important contribution in preventing and combating all forms of violence.
European states should “recognize, encourage and support the work of NGOs”, as per article 9. This means
enabling them to carry out their work in the best possible ways, for example:
setting up co-operative structures between law enforcement agencies and shelters, see article 7;
advertising NGO helplines and services in government information material;
ensuring relevant public and political support;
The Convention also indicates that the States must “allocate appropriate financial and human resources for
the activities delegated to non-governmental organizations”, as stated on article 8.
And, on what concerns the monitoring proceedings, paragraph 5 of article 68 says that “GREVIO may
receive information on the implementation of the Convention from NGO’s and civil society, as well as from
national institutions for the protection of human rights”.
How cooperation between parliamentarians and NGOs could be useful to prevent and tackle VAW
In many member states, the overwhelming majority of services for victims of domestic violence, and also
services for victims of other various forms of violence against women, are run by non-governmental
organizations.
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NGOs offer the large majority of specialist services. They have a long tradition of providing shelter, legal
advice, medical and psychological counseling. They run telephone helplines and other essential services.
NGOs can play a crucial role in the implementation of the protective measures contained in the Convention.
In many cases, NGOs are the implementing part, and often they have the ability to make the media focus on
the issue and the opportunity to get politicians to take action.
Cooperation between parliamentarians and NGOs establishes that holistic response to violence against
women, which is required by the Convention.
This may help all members of society to recognize such violence, speak out against it and support its
victims.
Neighbors, friends, relatives, or colleagues: everybody around us could be a victim of violence.
The Istanbul Convention will include Parliamentarians in the monitoring procedure. They can rely on NGOs;
they must be open minded to input from NGOs, who know exactly what is going on in their respective countries.
This complements the information provided by the States themselves, in the periodic submissions to the
monitoring bodies.
Conclusion
I began my speech by stating that everybody has a role to play in eliminating violence against women.
What I would like to emphasize is that civil society, and NGOs in particular, have a very important role.
I know that we can count on your support to promote the Istanbul Convention. As key representatives of
civil society, you have the ability to make your voices heard in asking that the eradication of violence against
women be a top-priority on the political agenda of our governments.
You can make the difference.
Dear Chairperson, Special Rapporteur, colleagues and friends,
Some say women’s NGO’s are lobbyists. And I say, yes, what’s the problem. That’s good, to be
controversial, argumentative. To provide different points of view to the decision makers, providing them
information, data collection, research, coming from the one’s pleading proximity from reality.
If we consider the formal definition of lobbying, as a range of activities that, in a democratic society, put
pressure on the public powers (executive and legislative) on behalf of the interests of a certain sector,
corporation, institution, region or country, women’s NGO’s are lobbyist.
They use tools as any other lobbyist: position papers, open letters, green and white books, public petitions,
meetings, visits, events, merchandising, media, internet, etc.
Yes, you are lobbyist, but you are much more than that. You are the one’s that provide help to the victims,
shelters, counseling, helplines. You are the one’s that dedicated your lives to help other human beings, that
mobilize volunteers, to the cause of eradicating violence and discrimination against women, a cause that
requires a common effort from all parts of society.
We should work together, hand in hand – whether we are human rights defenders, politicians, civil servants,
NGO representatives or ordinary people; whether we are parliamentarians, government representatives,
citizens of Council of Europe member States or not – to achieve a tangible result for these women.
We should make a common resolution, and stick to it with the greatest resolve and determination. This
conference is a great opportunity for us to be better equipped when we return to our countries. We will have
more arguments, solutions and good examples to support our demands.
Together, we can contribute to a process which will lead to the elimination of violence against women.
Everybody has a role to play in this mission. Together we can make it happen.
Thank you.
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Relatório elaborado pelo Deputado Mendes Bota, do PSD, relativo à sua participação numa fact
finding mission da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa (APCE), que decorreu em Haia e
Amsterdão, nos dias 14 e 15 de novembro de 2013.
RELATÓRIO N.º 88
Na minha condição de relator sobre a temática “Prostitution and Human Trafficking in Europe”, desloquei-
me à Holanda para uma “fact finding mission”, país onde a prostituição foi legalizada.
No dia 14 de Novembro de 2013, em Haia, tive reuniões com as seguintes entidades:
— Deputado Gert-Jan Segers;
— Presidente da Delegação da Holanda à APCE, Senador Hans Franken;
— Senadora Marjoleen Faber;
— Corine Dettmejg-Vermeuzen, National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence
against Children;
— Maarten Abelman, Chefe de Gabinete do Bureau of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human
Beings and Sexual Violence against Children;
— Jerrol Marten, manager do Comensha (Coordinating Centre on Trafficking in Human Beings);
— Bas de Visser, senior advisor do Comensha (Coordinating Centre on Trafficking in Human Beings);
— Evelien Pennings, Senior Policy Advisor of Organised Crime Unit;
— Wijnand Stevens, Deputy Director of the Directorate for European and International Affairs of the Ministry
of Security and Justice;
— Samareh Bloemberg, advisor on Policy on Prostitution of the Ministry of Security and Justice;
— Sergio d’Orsi, Head of the Serious and Organised Crime Focal Point Phoenix da Europol.
Já em Amsterdão, no dia 15 de Novembro de 2013, reuni com as seguintes entidades:
— Brian Varma, senior legal policy consultant of the Department of Public Order and Safety da cidade de
Amsterdão;
— Heleen Driessen, Directora do Prostitution and Health Center, com quem fiz uma visita à casa de abrigo
para mulheres no chamado “red light district”;
— Harold van Gelder, Inspector da Human Trafficking and Prostitution Unit do Regional Investigation
Department da cidade de Amsterdão;
— Dennis van den Berg, Head of Foreign Police da cidade de Amsterdão;
— Jeroen Hoogteijling, presidente do Salvation Army na Holanda;
— Leo van Doesburg, do European Christian Political Movement;
— Hannie van der Weerd, da Fundação Bright-Frame;
— Anouk Hamberg, da Fundação Bright-Frame.
Assembleia da República, 18 de Novembro de 2013
O Deputado do PSD, José Mendes Bota.
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Relatório elaborado pelo Deputado Fernando Negrão, do PSD, relativo à Delegação da Assembleia
da República que participou na reunião da Comissão para a Promoção da Qualidade de Vida e
Intercâmbios Humanos e da Cultura da Assembleia Parlamentar da União para o Mediterrâneo, que
teve lugar em Roma a 15 de novembro
RELATÓRIO
Reunião da Comissão da Cultura da AP-UpM
15 de novembro
Sumário Executivo:
— A reunião foi dirigida pelo Presidente da Comissão,Khalid Chaouki(Itália)
— Segunda reunião sob a Presidência italiana da Comissão da Cultura
— Ficou decidida a organização de um Seminário sobre “A Cultura e Identidade Euro-mediterrânica”
Participantes:
Marta Dassu, Vice-Ministra dos Negócios Estrangeiros italianos
Giulio Anselmi, Presidente da Agência de notícias ANSA
Soumiya Benkhaldoun, Ministra-adjunta para a Educação do Reino de Marrocos
Nicola Borrelli, Diretor-geral para o Cinema do Ministério da Cultura italiano
Tijani Bounehmidi, Vice-Presidente da Universidade Euro-mediterrânica de Fez
Isabella Camera d’Afflitto, Prof. de Árabe na Universidade La Sapienza de Roma
Cláudio Cortese, Secretário-Geral Adjunto da UpM
George David, Diretor da Comissão Real de Cinema da Jordânia
Mathieu Gallet, Presidente Conferência de Operadores de Audiovisuais mediterrânicos
Paolo, Petrocelli, Presidente da Academia de Música para a Paz – EMMA
Marco Rossi, Subsecretário de Estado italiano para a Educação
Hiba Al’Kawas, Soprano e compositora
Participantes Membros da Comissão (anexo I):
Parlamento Europeu (3 MPE): Malika Benarab-Attou (Os Verdes – França – Vice-presidente da Comissão)
e Guido Milana (S&D— Itália).
Países do Sul do Mediterrâneo (7): Argélia, Jordânia, Líbano, Marrocos, Palestina, Tunísia e Turquia;
UE Parlamentos Nacionais (11): Bósnia-Herzegovina, Bulgária, República Checa, Estónia, Hungria, Itália,
Letónia, Luxemburgo, Portugal – Deputado Fernando Negrão(PSD), Eslovénia e Suécia.
Detalhes:
Depois da adoção da agenda (anexo II) e da ata da última reunião da Comissão (anexo III), o Presidente
Khalid Chaouki abriu a reunião aos diferentes intervenientes.
Marina Sereni, Vice-Presidente da Câmara dos Deputados de Itália, referiu:
Proposta de se organizar Conferência de Presidentes de Parlamentos da União para o Mediterrâneo
durante a presidência da UE no segundo semestre de 2014;
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Destacou a questão de Lampedusa – os problemas e a situação dramática que se vive diariamente
nessa ilha têm que motivar a uma maior união na europa para a resolução do problema da migração – apelou
aos Deputados presentes para levarem esta mensagem de volta aos respetivos países.
Marta Dassu, Vice-Ministra dos Negócios Estrangeiros italianos, sublinhou que, por razões políticas,
nunca a União para o Mediterrâneo foi tão importante:
A UpM não tem respondido às expetativas – não há resultados positivos. Deu o exemplo do conflito na
Síria — Convenção Genebra II – a UpM tem que ser parte ativa;
A UpM tem que responder à problemática do desemprego jovem na região: no norte e no sul do
mediterrâneo;
A UpM tem que responder à tragédia da qual a Ilha de Lampedusa é testemunha regular – a migração
não é um problema italiano – é um problema de todos.
Depois da abertura dos trabalhos, deu-se início à discussão do primeiro tema:“Os média, filmes, a
televisão e a produção de arte: o mediterrâneo como uma fonte inspiradora de uma cultura de
inclusão”.
A primeira intervenção foi de Nicola Borrelli, Diretor-geral para o Cinema do Ministério da Cultura italiano,
que falou sobre a importância das coproduções entre os vários países da região. Seguiu-se uma intervenção
por Giulio Anselmi, Presidente da Agência de notícias ANSA, que falou sobre a importância da informação na
região mediterrânica – fez uma proposta concreta no sentido de se promover um prémio anual para um
jornalista da zona euro-mediterrânica.
Os trabalhos continuaram com uma apresentação, pelo Presidente da Conferência de Operadores de
Audiovisuais mediterrânicos, Mathieu Gallet, do projeto TerraMED (www.terramedplus.tv/fr). Este projeto
permite assistir a documentários e ficção em streaming em muitos países Mediterrâneo, com legendas em
árabe, Inglês e Francês (nota-se que a RTP não se encontra incluída neste projeto). Foi ainda apresentado o
projeto MED-MEM que é um arquivo, já com mais de 4000 arquivos audiovisuais disponíveis online
gratuitamente, num site trilíngue, oferecendo uma nova perspetiva sobre o património de toda a bacia do
Mediterrâneo. Ambos os projetos são financiados pela Comissão Europeia (Euromed Heritage IV).
Os trabalhos da manhã concluíram com um momento musical proporcionado pela Soprano Hiba Al’Kawas
(Líbano) com a Ensemble de cordas de Roma (EMMA).
Da parte da tarde, deu-se início à discussão do segundo tema:“Parcerias entre as Universidades da
bacia do Mediterrâneo: lições e perspetivas para uma maior cooperação”.
A primeira intervenção foi feita por Marco Rossi, Subsecretário de Estado italiano para a Educação, que
comentou e elencou as convenções e acordos existentes na área da educação, bilaterais emultilaterais, na
região do mediterrâneo – não só Norte-Sul e Sul-Norte como intra os países do Sul e do Norte – fez uma
proposta concreta para esta Comissão se debruçar sobre a questão das equivalências de certificados e
diplomas entre os vários tipos de ensino.
Seguiu-se a intervenção de Soumiya Benkhaldoun, Ministra-adjunta para a Educação do Reino de
Marrocos, que falou sobre o ensino e o conhecimento como fatores estruturantes para o desenvolvimento de
uma economia e de um país.
Seguiu-se a intervenção de Cláudio Cortese, Secretário-Geral Adjunto da UpM. Começou por referir as
formas de apoio da UpM e as novas perspetivas para o ensino superior na região Euro-med. Apresentou a
missão, estrutura e o funcionamento do Secretariado da União para o Mediterrâneo, sublinhou o trabalho já
feito pela Divisão para o Ensino Superior e Investigação. Apresentou ainda os programas de mestrado e de
doutoramento da EMUNI, recentemente apoiados pela UpM.
Destaca-se ainda a intervenção de Tijani Bounehmidi, Vice-Presidente da Universidade Euro-
mediterrânica de Fez. Referiu o processo de criação da Universidade Euro-mediterrânica em Fez (Marrocos) –
A Euromed-UM será um centro internacional de ensino superior e investigação que tem como foco principal os
assuntos da região do Euro-Med. Os programas prioritários da Euromed-UM serão: 1) História, Herança
Cultural e as Civilizações do Mediterrâneo; (2) Ciências Políticas e Direito; e (3) Energia Solar e áreas
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relacionadas com a engenharia de materiais. A médio prazo, serão gradualmente desenvolvidos outros
programas.
A construção da universidade teve início em 2012, sendo que a sua inauguração está prevista para 2016. A
estrutura da Euromed-UM será finalizada em 2021, quando os edifícios e a aplicação de todos os programas
de educação e de investigação ficarão completos. A Universidade terá cerca de 3000 alunos provenientes da
região Euro-Med. A proposta do projeto já foi remetida ao Ministro para o Ensino Superior do Reino de
Marrocos sob os auspícios de Sua Majestade o Rei Mohammed VI.
Encerramento dos trabalhos
O Presidente da Comissão Khalid Chaouki encerrou os trabalhos e informou que a próxima reunião
deverá ser agendada para ter lugar em Barcelona, no Secretariado da União para o Mediterrâneo, em meados
de janeiro de 2014.
Palácio de S. Bento, 19 de novembro de 2013.
A Chefe de Divisão de Relações Internacionais, Isabel Botelho Leal.
Nota: Os documentos referidos em anexo encontram-se disponíveis para consulta nos serviços de apoio.
A DIVISÃO DE REDAÇÃO E APOIO AUDIOVISUAL.