Motion for a resolution | Doc. 14821 | 25 January 2019

Strengthening the fight against so-called “honour” crimes

Signatories: Ms Béatrice FRESKO-ROLFO, Monaco, ALDE ; Ms Ann-Britt ÅSEBOL, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr José BADIA, Monaco, EPP/CD ; Ms Petra BAYR, Austria, SOC ; Ms Deborah BERGAMINI, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Maurizio BUCCARELLA, Italy, NR ; Ms Edite ESTRELA, Portugal, SOC ; Ms Frances FITZGERALD, Ireland, EPP/CD ; Ms Miren Edurne GORROTXATEGUI, Spain, UEL ; Ms Françoise HETTO-GAASCH, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Mr Momodou Malcolm JALLOW, Sweden, UEL ; Ms Elvira KOVÁCS, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr Georgii LOGVYNSKYI, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Carina OHLSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Ms Selin SAYEK BÖKE, Turkey, SOC ; Mr Virendra SHARMA, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Petra STIENEN, Netherlands, ALDE ; Mr Damien THIÉRY, Belgium, ALDE ; Mr Manuel TORNARE, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Dimitri TSKITISHVILI, Georgia, SOC

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

Every year, thousands of women in Europe are victims of so-called “honour” crimes. Such violence is a blatant violation of human rights and has devastating consequences for victims, sometimes resulting in their death.

Ten years have passed since the Parliamentary Assembly examined this subject in Resolution 1681 (2009), and more than four years since the entry into force of the Istanbul Convention, which clearly stipulates that so-called “honour” must not be considered as justifying violence against women. Yet so-called “honour” crimes continue to be committed in our member States. The Assembly’s recent work on forced marriage moreover showed that this other blatant violation of fundamental rights is often linked to notions of so-called “honour”.

The Assembly must take up this issue, evaluate the implementation of Resolution 1681 (2009) and bring to light all the good practices that can strengthen the fight against so-called “honour” crimes. It should examine the extent of the problem, as well as weaknesses in the mechanisms and policies currently in place, and draw up recommendations to member States and other relevant actors in order to put an end to this scourge and save lives. Every day lost is a day too many.