The rekindling of the debate on the reform of the ESM was not enough to test the resilience of the Government, the commitments of the G20 under the Italian presidency they started not quite auspiciously. Starting with the handover in Saudi Arabia, up to the growing number of requests that ask Giuseppe Conte to respect the promises made by placing gender equality at the center of the agenda (Goal 5 of the UN Agenda 2030). But on the application of Istanbul Convention like on the Mes Poland and Hungary form a wall and one wonders how far the EU will be able to tolerate it.
ISTANBUL CONVENTION: ON THE SIDE OF WOMEN AND THE FUTURE OF ITALY
Poland and Hungary are not a thorn in the side not only for the approval of the reform of the ESM, but also under many other points of view concerning the respect for civil and human rights. So much so that the EPP, the European People's Party, is ever closer to defenestrating the far-right party of Orban, the Hungarian premier. Fidesz had already been suspended in 2019 for the defamatory campaign against the EU, and then came the laws that restrict civil liberties in the country in open violation of the European Treaties.
Furthermore, always Poland and Hungary recently they have turned against the EU for the application of the Istanbul Convention, a powerful legal instrument because it is binding, which protects women against any form of violence and which should become a Community Directive once it has been ratified by all signatory countries. The Convention in art. 3 specifies that violence against women is a violation of human rights and it's a form of discrimination against women. The standard was also taken up and contextualized by Convention 190 of the ILO, the International Labor Organization of the United Nations
Italy signed the Istanbul Convention (whose full name is the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence) on 27 September 2012 and the Parliament authorized its ratification with the law n. 77/2013. To enter into force, the Convention requires the ratification of at least 10 states, including 8 members of the Council of Europe. To date, the Convention, signed by 44 States party to the Council of Europe and by the European Union (which signed it on 13 June 2017), has been ratified by 33 States (Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina , Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Holland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Norway).
In November 2019, the European Union Parliament adopted a resolution, by 500 votes to 91, with 50 abstentions, in which it called on the European Council to complete the European Union's ratification of the Convention and urged the seven member states (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia and the United Kingdom) signatories to the Convention to ratify it without delay. But Poland and Türkiye have asked to withdraw, joining the refusal of Russia and Azerbaijan. Although Erdogan's daughter had taken sides in defense of the Istanbul Convention after the feminist demonstrations and against the pressure from Islamist ultra-conservatives for Turkey to withdraw from the protocol, Erdogan has not changed his position and has indeed proposed to reintroduce the shotgun wedding, a hypothesis that contradicts the principles enshrined in the Convention.
In May, Viktor Orban's government rejected ratification of the Convention referring to the definition of gender, where men and women are distinguished, no longer solely for their biological and sexual differences, but also on the basis of socially constructed categories (which assign distinct roles and behaviors to the two sexes). This is and remains the most controversial issue.
The Istanbul Convention has helped raise awareness of domestic violence and launch campaigns to help victims. But it has also stimulated the debate on the issue in the EU to complete the accession process, one of the priorities of the new Von der Leyen strategy for gender equality 2020-2025 of the European Commission, already sanctioned on 5 March 2020. The Commission has maintained its commitment on EU accession to the Istanbul Convention in its 2021 Work Program, also presenting a new proposal to combat gender-based violence. However, even the visit to the Vatican by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Belgian Rik Daems, to ask for ratification has not led to any results despite the fact that the Pope has always shown himself to be very open to the need to commit himself to preventing and combating violence against women.
one wonders until when countries that repeatedly violate the European Treaties will be allowed to put a spanner in the EU's wheels hindering important measures such as the reform of the Mes and the Next Generation Fund. Countries which then make extensive use of European structural funds and have never finalized their membership of the Eurozone out of mere opportunism.
THE HANDOVER OF THE G20 DELIVERIES TO ITALY IN SAUDI ARABIA
At the G20 digital summit in Riyadh at the end of November, the conciliatory and cordial tones clashed with the expectations of a nod to raise the issue of human rights, which in the last two years - from the murder of journalist Kashoggi to the imprisonment of human rights activists of women in Saudi Arabia: Maya al Zahrani, Samar Badawi, Nassima al Sada, Nouf Abdilaziz, and Loujain al Hathloul – raised questions about the ruling house. The trials of the activists have been on hold for more than a year and many of them are demonstrating on hunger strike. Mohammed Bin Salman had been the protagonist at the end of 2017 of a reformist impetus that included important openings in favor of women, well received by international circles. A series of discriminatory rules were eliminated against Saudi citizens who could drive cars independently and access public places (restaurants, sports stadiums, etc.) in an equal manner.
But the crescendo of plots to hinder the crown prince's accession to the throne has detracted from the finalization of the reform, which included these gender equality measures. Dissidents and human rights activists have paid dearly for this turbulent political phase, but once again, as in the case of Belarus and Azerbaijan, the EU has not gone beyond the threat of sanctions.
ON THE SIDE OF HUMAN RIGHTS, ON THE SIDE OF WOMEN
And while the Biden administration takes office with an extremely inclusive team, which includes a large female presence, on the Nasdaq the rules will change and about three quarters of the 3.000 listed companies will have to adapt to new criteria for respecting gender equality, but also underrepresented ethnic and LGBTQ+ minorities, under penalty of delisting.
It is therefore clear, also given the ongoing international debate, such as for Conte that of gender equality, and female employment becomes more than a challenge, a real bet. And tensions and pressing demands on the part of political representatives, associations and movements committed to rights are rising in the country. In fact, it seems evident that less than one billion euro has been allocated to gender policies in the "Recovery Fund" plan and that only 100 million euro has been allocated in the budget law, which can be increased by another 2022 million from 2026 to 50, but certainly not enough even to achieve an initial objective, indicated by the Colao Task Force, which had raised the urgency of strengthening nursery schools, bringing the level of coverage of the actual needs of parents from 25 to 60% for a reconciliation between family and work .
Ma on the front of female employment and equal pay, except for some measures included in the Family Act, there is no tangible position taken by the Government. The fear is therefore growing that, exactly as in Riyadh, the commitment made with the G20 may be broken and the rights of women (who are over 50% of the population) will be overshadowed. Perhaps, if the release of CDP's Destined Assets, amounting to 44 billion euros to support companies with a turnover of over 50 million, began to be linked to the strict application of the same criteria proposed by the Nasdaq (equal pay and representation of gender and minorities ), the country would be approaching a turning point of true sustainability and respect for universal human rights.
