Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Turkish counterpart on the withdrawal of the Turkish Government from the Istanbul Convention on Women's Rights.

The UK is committed to ending violence against women and girls. We were disappointed that Turkey began proceedings to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on 19 March. While this is a matter for Turkey, we regret that it has taken this decision, especially in light of President Erdoğan's ambitions for reform as expressed in Turkey's human rights action plan, published on 2 March. I expressed our view publicly in these terms on 21 March, and my colleague the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa also raised it with his Turkish counterpart when they spoke on 23 March, urging Turkey to reconsider its decision. The UK signed the Convention in 2012 and remains committed to ratifying it.