US President Joe Biden described Turkey’s withdrawal from an international agreement aimed at protecting women from violence as “deeply disappointing,” saying today, Sunday, that it is a step backward in efforts to end violence against women.

Biden added in a statement: “Countries should work to reinforce and renew their obligations to end violence against women, not reject international agreements aimed at protecting women and holding violators accountable … This is a frustrating step backwards for the international movement to end violence against women worldwide.”

Turkey withdrew yesterday from the Istanbul agreement for the year 2011 to combat violence Against women.

In turn, European leaders criticized what they described as “Turkey’s bewildering and worrying decision” to withdraw from the Istanbul agreement, and urged President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reconsider it.

The agreement overseen by the Council of Europe pledges to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence and promote equality. Femicide has increased in Turkey in recent years, and thousands of women participated on Saturday in Istanbul and other cities in protest against the government’s decision to withdraw from the agreement.

Germany, France and the European Union expressed annoyance at this decision, and that was The second time in four days that European leaders criticized Ankara for human rights issues, after the Turkish prosecution moved to close a pro-Kurdish political party.

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said on Saturday evening: We cannot help but express our deep regret and express our lack of understanding of the Turkish government’s decision. ”

He added that the decision“ risks endangering the protection and basic rights of women and girls in Turkey and their basic rights and sends a dangerous message in various parts of the world. We can only urge Turkey to reverse the decision. ”

In a tweet posted on Twitter, today, Sunday, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission who spoke with Erdogan the day before the Turkish decision, said:“ Women deserve A strong legal framework to protect them, “and called on all signatories to the convention to ratify it.

The agreement split the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and even the Erdogan family. Officials raised the idea of ​​withdrawing from the agreement last year amid a dispute over how to reduce domestic violence in Turkey, where the murders of women have tripled in ten years, according to a human rights group.

For its part, Paris said. Turkey’s withdrawal represents a new setback in terms of human rights, while Berlin said that culture or tradition cannot be “an excuse to ignore violence against women.”

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