European governments have been asked to strongly fight “honour crimes”.

Jacqueline Thibault, President of the Switzerland based Foundation ‘Surgir’ said: “Governments must apply zero tolerance to so-called ‘honour crimes’, which must be punished by exemplary sentences to show total rejection of this practice.”

She made the remarks at a hearing organised by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) network of contact parliamentarians committed to combating violence against women.

“Europe is likely to be increasingly confronted with this problem because of migratory movements,” Ms. Thibault added.

Hannana Siddiqui, Policy and Research Officer at the UK based
NGO Southall Black Sisters, described the situation in the UK, where, according to police estimates, 12 women and girls are victims of “honour crimes” every year.

Rising religious fundamentalism and a growing tendency for minority communities to assert their distinctive identities have increased pressure on women belonging to those communities.

Ms. Siddiqui also outlined the strategies adopted by the public authorities to combat this threat.

Ms. Liri Kopaçi-Di Michele, Head of Division in the Council of Europe’s Justice and Human Dignity Directorate, discussed the “honour crimes” in the light of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention).

“The drafters of the Convention did not make these acts a separate criminal offence but agreed to prohibit all attempts to justify them on the basis of culture, custom, religion or tradition,” she said.