NGOs Granted Access to Women’s Safety and Refugee Discussions

EU Council Decision – 23 Feb 2026 (COM 2026/103)

Purpose
The EU will not object to a draft decision that lets non‑governmental organisations (NGOs) observe meetings of the Committee of the Parties (CoP) of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention). The decision applies to matters on judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non‑refoulement.

Background

• The Istanbul Convention entered into force for the EU on 1 Oct 2023.
• The EU signed it in June 2017 and completed accession on 28 June 2023.
• The CoP is the monitoring body of the Convention. Its Rules of Procedure (Rule 2(3)(c)) allow NGOs to attend meetings as observers on an ad‑hoc basis.
• Discussions about how to admit NGOs began in June 2025 and continued through December 2025.
• On 27 Jan 2026 the CoP Secretariat sent a draft decision (IC‑CP(2026)1 prov) to all Parties. If no written objections were received by 26 Mar 2026, the draft would be considered adopted.

Proposed Procedure for NGO Admission

1. Silent written procedure: Before a meeting, the CoP Secretariat asks all members to approve or object to an NGO’s request.
2. If no objection: The NGO is notified that it may attend the meeting.
3. If an objection: The decision is taken at the meeting itself.
4. Participation limits: NGOs may attend only the thematic debates, not the adoption of recommendations, and may attend in person.
5. Ad‑hoc status: An NGO can be admitted for more than one meeting if the same theme is discussed over several meetings.

Criteria for Admission
a. Request submitted at least four weeks before the meeting.
b. NGO must support the values of the Council of Europe.
c. NGO must work on violence against women or domestic violence and its work must be relevant to the CoP’s monitoring.
d. NGO must be registered in or active in a Council of Europe member state or a country that has expressed interest in joining the Convention.

Legal Basis

• Procedural: Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
• Substantive: Articles 82(2), 84 and 78(2) of the TFEU, which cover judicial cooperation in criminal matters, asylum and non‑refoulement.
• The decision is binding on the EU under international law.

Decision

• Article 1 – The EU will not object to the draft decision on NGO observers.
• Article 2 – The decision takes effect on the day it is adopted.

Other Notes

• Ireland is not bound by the relevant Council Decision (EU 2023/1076) and does not participate in this decision.
• Denmark is not bound by the decision and is not subject to it.

The decision is adopted in Brussels on 23 Feb 2026.