Article 9 – Non-Governmental Organisations and Civil Society

Abstract

Under Article 9 of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (‘the Convention’), States Parties are required to ‘recognise, encourage and support’ the work of nongovernmental and civil society organisations active in combating violence against women, and to ‘establish effective co-operation’ with these organisations.Specific references to nongovernmental organisations (‘NGOs’) and civil society organisations (‘CSOs’) can also be found in Article 7, paragraph 3, calling for NGOs and CSOs to be included, by the Parties to the Convention, in the design and implementation of all policies addressing violence against women and domestic violence; Article 8, requiring Parties to ensure the allocation of appropriate financial and human resources for policies, measures, and programmes carried out by NGOs and CSOs to prevent and combat all forms of violence covered by the scope of the Convention; Articles 13, paragraph 1, encouraging Parties to cooperate with NGOs and CSOs in carrying out campaigns or programmes to increase awareness and understanding among the general public of the different manifestations of violence against women and domestic violence; and Article 18, paragraph 2, requiring Parties to provide for effective cooperation between all relevant public authorities and NGOs in protecting and supporting victims and witnesses of violence. Together, these provisions provide a framework for non-governmental involvement in the Convention’s implementation which is unique among international human rights treaties and whose raison d'être lies in the recognition that it is only through the active engagement of NGOs and CSOs, anchored in their long-standing contribution to the prevention and combating of all forms of violence against women, that an effective achievement of the Convention’s goals is possible