Latvia’s United List continues to oppose the ratification of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women, but is not committed to withdrawing from the treaty immediately, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, LETA reports. He said that the question should not be made into a top political priority, given that the treaty had not significantly changed the daily lives of Latvian residents. “Why do we need all this international fuss” about the agreement, Kulbergs asked. In November 2025, at least 10,000 people demonstrated in the centre of Riga against the Latvian parliament’s vote in favour of withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention. The parliament later decided to postpone a final decision on a possible withdrawal from the human rights treaty until after the parliamentary elections in October 2026.
Meanwhile, 46.9% of Latvian residents said that Latvia should not withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, according to a SKDS poll for DELFI in July 2026. Another 35.6% wanted Latvia to exit the treaty, while 17.5% had no answer. Altogether 50.6% of women supported the treaty and 29.7% were against, while 42.5% of men were for and 45.6% against. Also, 49.3% of ethnic Latvians supported the convention and 35.4% were against, while 41.1% of people of other nationalities supported and 36.2% opposed the treaty, according to the poll. Support for the convention was highest among supporters of the Progressives (98.1%) and New Unity (96%), while opposition to the treaty was highest among those who supported Sovereign Power (69.4%), Latvia First (57.1%), and the National Alliance (51.2%), the survey showed.