ZAGREB, March 7, 2018 – Croatia’s strongest opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Wednesday called on the government to ratify the Istanbul Convention as soon as possible, recalling that the SDP had introduced it in Parliament on International Women’s Day, March 8, last year.
SDP MP Romana Jurković told a press conference that the opposition within the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) “is obviously so strong that Andrej Plenković’s authority as Prime Minister does not mean much.”
Jurković warned that it was important to ratify the convention as soon as possible because domestic violence was on the rise and becoming increasingly brutal. She said that 300 women had been killed in Croatia in the last 10 years and 12,000 were beaten up and raped annually.
Jurković said that the SDP wanted to provide political support to all progressive forces fighting for all forms of human freedom and for a pluralist and open society.
Since the implementation of the Istanbul Convention requires considerable funding, which is one of the reasons why the SDP government led by Zoran Milanović did not ratify it, the press asked her to specify how much it would cost.
“Precise figures are not crucial,” Jerković said, adding that the SDP was being criticised for not ratifying the convention. “We signed the convention in 2013 and showed a commitment to protecting women in all areas.” “Had we not lost power, I believe we would have brought this process to an end,” Jerković said.
SDP lawmaker Joško Klisović could not specify the cost of implementation of the Istanbul Convention either, saying that analyses had not been completed at the time. He said that economic indicators were growing now and enough money could be found in the budget for women’s protection.
Speaking ahead of International Women’s Day, the head of the Istrian party IDS’s Women’s Club, Sandra Ćakić Kuhar, said in Pula on Wednesday that gender equality was not just a women’s issue but also a political issue for all those who cared about social and political progress.
IDS deputy leader Valter Flego said that the Istanbul Convention was a binding international instrument that serves as a legal framework to protect women against all forms of violence and also to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence against women.
