PRESS RELEASE – Council of Europe & European Union Joint Programme – South Programme

On 24 April 2020, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe responded favourably to Tunisia’s official request to be invited to accede to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention).

Parties to this Convention acknowledge, among others, that it is each State’s responsibility to effectively combat violence towards women, and that it is necessary to prevent these types of violence, to protect its victims, and to prosecute perpetrators.

Fighting against violence towards women is part of the priorities of the Council of Europe Neighbourhood Partnership with Tunisia 2018-2021. It is also one of the core priorities of the South Programme, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the latter.

Over the past years, Tunisia has accomplished significant reforms in this area, namely through the adoption of Organic Law 2017-58 on the elimination of violence towards women.

Combating violence towards women takes various forms and involves many actors. In consequence, the Council of Europe, through the Istanbul Convention, promotes a multidisciplinary approach in order to enhance the capacities of all the involved stakeholders.

In addition, the Council of Europe reinforces capacities of key Tunisian partners in the area of preventing and combating violence towards women through the Programme on Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP). This contributes to ensuring that these stakeholders take ownership of a victim-centered multidisciplinary approach which guarantees their protection.