Council of Europe head calls for boosting of women’s rights

Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset. Keystone-SDA

Alain Berset, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, said in a speech on Saturday that he does not believe in a world in which women have limited rights and limitless fears.

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Ahead of International Women’s Day on Sunday, the former Swiss government minister criticised those who ignore headlines about violence against women, bury their heads in the sand and claim that equality between women and men has “gone too far” – or who “unabashedly say that women should know their place”.

Worldwide, a woman is killed every ten minutes by someone she knows, Berset added. In Europe, one in three women is subjected to violence by her partner and one in six experiences sexual violence, he said. And these figures only refer to reported cases.

Essential for democracy

Berset also criticised those Council of Europe member states which have not ratified – or which wish to leave – the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention. “Member states must work together to ensure the safety of women and their ability to participate fully in our democracies,” Berset demanded.

For Berset, women’s voices are crucial to public life, strengthening democracy and ensuring human rights and the rule of law.

Adapted from German by AI/dos

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