The Istanbul Convention’s promotion of gender ideology is in violation of Hungary’s constitution and also contradict the country’s strong anti-immigration stance, Hungary’s junior coalition partner the Christian Democratic Party (KDNP) stated after introducing a political motion to parliament on Monday to reject the convention.
The Istanbul Convention, an initiative of the Council of Europe was adopted by the council’s Committee of Ministers on April 7, 2011, in Istanbul, is meant to halt violence against women and end domestic violence, but it has long been deemed controversial for its many clauses in support of LGBT causes and pro-migration causes.
“The document wants to force upon countries the definition of social genders and with it the introduction of the destructive gender theory and also wants to force countries to grant asylum based on gender,” KDNP caucus leader Lőrinc Nacsa told national news agency MTI on Monday.
While Hungary was among the 45 countries which signed the Istanbul Convention after a three-year delay in 2014, it was never ratified by the Hungarian Parliament, hence is not part of the Hungarian legal system.
Nacsa said that the proponents of the convention are misguided in their efforts, as Hungary has long since passed laws that offer ample protection to those affected by the convention, including strict legal measures against violence and domestic violence in particular.
“We have a right to defend our country, our culture, our laws, traditions, and national values, which should not be threatened by either the gender theory that goes against the beliefs of the majority of the population or by immigration without bounds, or preferential immigration based on gender,” Nacsa said.
KDNP representative Hajnalka Juhász added that the party calls on all other Hungarian parliamentary parties to support their motion and the political statement against the ratification of the convention.
Other European countries have also rejected the Istanbul Convention, including Slovakia. Slovak politicians indicated that several provisions of the convention clashed with Slovakia’s constitution, particularly regarding the definition of marriage between a man and a woman, and voiced concerns that the document was promoting “gender ideology”.
The Czech Republic also signed the document, but parliament has never ratified it.
Title image: Lőrinc Nacsa, caucus leader of the junior coalition partner the Christian Democratic Party (KDNP). (source: kdnp.hu)
