Skopje, 25 November 2021 (MIA) – The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights on Thursday at the start of the UN campaign “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” calls for efforts to be made to align the National Criminal Code with the Istanbul Convention. The law on prevention and protection from violence against women and domestic violence, enforced since May 2021, aims at improving institutional and overall support for victims of gender-based violence and overcoming shortcomings from previous legislation, said the Helsinki Committee, adding it is one of the key laws envisaged under the national action plan for implementation of the Istanbul Convention 2018-2023. Under the document, other laws and bylaws, including most notably the Criminal Code, should be amended. The Criminal Code, noted the Helsinki Committee, is yet to be amended to introduce new felonies and change existing provisions envisioned under the Istanbul Convention. “Although we are aware that issues in our society come to light when implementing laws in practice, legislative alignment with the Istanbul Convention is the basis and without it, systemic changes are impossible,” the non-profit organization said Thursday, adding that adoption of legislation is only the first step towards systemic changes in eliminating gender-based violence. The sixteen days of activism to end violence against women is an annual international campaign, starting on November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and lasting until December 10, Human Rights Day. The campaign originates from activists of the first Global Institute for Women’s Leadership in 1991, and it then becomes coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership.