The anti-Istanbul Convention campaign: rhetoric or reality? A comparative analysis of the Istanbul Convention and the ECHR on same-sex marriage and the legal introduction of third sex

This article focuses on the anti- Istanbul Convention campaign, and analyses whether the Istanbul Convention can or aims to increase the scope of LGBTQI+ rights including the introduction of same-sex marriage and the legal recognition of a third-sex category, as put forward by a series of Central and Eastern European states. In its comparative examination of the Istanbul Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), this article argues that the Istanbul Convention does not provide any added value on these issues to what is already ensured within the scope of the ECHR. Furthermore, this article claims that the ongoing campaign against the Istanbul Convention constitutes a new form of exemptionalism within the human rights framework to the effect of excluding women from human rights guarantees and protection.