“I believe we could ratify it with certain conditions as the problem is with the “gender” concept and discussions are held on that. And it terms of women’s rights, protecting women, domestic violence, we, of course, back it,” Pranckietis told the Žinių Radijas news radio on Wednesday.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius signed the Convention in 2013 and the Seimas has not ratified it so far.
The Convention is causing major debates in Lithuania due to the concept of “gender” and its Lithuanian translation, approved by the government chancellery, as “social gender”. Social Security and Labor Minister Linas Kukuraitis says opinions on the Istanbul Convention differ so much that it would be difficult to reach a compromise any time soon.
The Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference and other critics say the Convention would make Lithuania change its gender concept and introduce unacceptable notions about homosexuality. Some conservative MPs believe the Convention would bring confusion to the legal system and undermine the implementation of the family policy.