The division of Cyprus continues to prevent the full enjoyment of human rights by all individuals across the island, says the annual report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The report reviews human rights issues in Cyprus during the period from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023. The report, which consists of 15 pages, notes in its conclusions that “the division of Cyprus continues to prevent the full enjoyment of human rights by all people across the island. He notes that while the island has gradually returned to a sense of normalcy despite the ongoing presence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), challenges, including discrimination, remain in terms of the full enjoyment of civil and political rights and finances, social and cultural rights, “with people in vulnerable situations, such as migrants and minorities, and the Turkish Cypriot community, being disproportionately affected”.
It adds that while crossing points continued to operate normally, “the limited number of crossing points, long queues and discrimination at crossings, hindered the right to free movement and interaction between the two communities.” “Further efforts should be made to increase the number of crossing points and for trade and opportunities for meaningful cross-community contact as a key element of reconciliation and confidence building,”, the report adds.
< p>Furthermore, it states that despite these challenges, many actors have continued to promote and protect human rights, including representatives of civil society, religious leaders and religious actors, and several bi-communal technical committees.
It is also worth noting, he adds, “that civil society in the northern part of Cyprus, in addition to supporting victims of human rights violations, has published its first human rights monitoring reports”. In this context, he states, “and given the growing economic gap on the island, it remains imperative to ensure a human rights-based approach based on the principles of non-discrimination, participation, transparency and accountability as an essential element of sustainable development, encouraging social cohesion and promoting dialogue and the political process”.
Such an approach, he continues, is particularly important when it comes to the work of bi-communal technical committees to protect them from greater political dynamics. It is also important, she adds, to “effectively implement the joint action plan to ensure the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in the settlement/potential settlement process”.
“ ;Human rights apply to all people everywhere. All actors must therefore defend, without any discrimination, the human rights of all Cypriots in accordance with relevant international human rights standards, it says.
According to the Report, “while many human rights issues in Cyprus stem from its division, urgently and effectively addressing all human rights protection gaps and issues in Cyprus – including asylum seekers and migrants – remains essential no only to ensure the realization of human rights for all people living in Cyprus but also to support efforts to achieve a just and lasting peaceful solution regarding the division of the island”.
In this regard, the Office recalls that, in resolution 1987/50, the Human Rights Committee called for the restoration and respect of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots.
“The Office therefore encourages increased engagement and technical cooperation with United Nations human rights mechanisms to promote the human rights of all Cypriots, including addressing the human rights issues outlined in this report”, it notes.
In closing, the report notes that “it is also of the utmost importance that the Office and other relevant actors continue to have access to the entire island and to all affected individuals and to enjoy the full cooperation of the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish authorities”.
The annual report of the Office, which is headed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, also states that UN mechanisms have in the past expressed their concerns about the factors and difficulties that prevent implementation of international human rights law and practices across the island “because of the ongoing division”. The Republic of Cyprus, it is added, “has not been able to ensure the implementation of international human rights instruments, of which it is a member, in areas outside its effective control”, while referring to a “general lack of information on the situation of of human rights in the northern part of Cyprus”. Monitoring and reporting by international mechanisms on this situation in the “northern part” of Cyprus had remained limited, it added.
On the issue of missing persons, the report notes, among other things, that the Commission of Inquiry on Missing Persons had identified by November 30, 2023, 91 potential burial sites that are ready to be excavated. “The Commission carried out excavations in 7 of the military areas in the northern part of Cyprus, to which access had been granted in June 2019, where 6 recoveries were made,” it added.
On the same subject, reference is also made to the presence of mines and explosive remnants, noting that they may have a negative impact on a number of rights, including the right to life. The report notes SA resolution 2674 (2023) which calls on the two leaders to agree on a plan for a mine-free Cyprus, making progress in clearing the 29 remaining suspected hazardous areas on the island.
“ Despite this appeal, no progress has been made in cleaning up the 29 remaining areas due to the current political climate. While the Turkish security forces expressed a possible interest in the matter in case the other side showed reciprocity, the National Guard did not wish to discuss the matter,” it said.
With regard to freedom of movement, the report notes, among other things, reports by the UN Secretary-General on the need for more bi-communal contacts, and also by the Human Rights Commission that even more crossing points need to be opened.
Furthermore, reference is made to the property rights of T/c in the free areas and of displaced T/c in the occupied areas, as well as the ongoing surveillance by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe of relevant ECtHR decisions, with reference to Turkey's non-compliance with regard to the payment of reparations . In relation to Varosia, a reminder is made of resolution 1987/50 of the Human Rights Committee, where any attempts to settle any part of the city by people other than its legal residents are considered illegal and a call is made for an immediate end to such actions. It is also noted the reference of the UN Secretary General in his report, that the UN continues to consider the Government of Turkey responsible for the situation.
In terms of religious freedoms, the report notes, among other things, the conversion of the church of Agia Anna in occupied Kythrea into a high school and the reports of the conversion of part of the monastery of St. Andrew the Apostle into a place of prayer with funding from Turkey. He also says that in the most important mosque “in the southern part of the island” – as mentioned in the free areas of the Republic of Cyprus – prayer is allowed only three times a day, instead of five, calling on the Republic of Cyprus to strengthen its efforts to ensure that its legislation and practices comply with the prerequisites of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the removal unjustified restrictions on access to places of worship.
In terms of freedom of expression, the report refers to the Turkish court's convictions against the journalist Sener Levent, but also to the prosecution in the territories of the president of the Turkish Journalists' Union Ali Kismir, as well as in the relevant statements from the International and European Federation of Journalists.
In the matters of education, references are made to the suspension of the Turkish side's participation in the bi-communal program “Imagine”, as well as the concerns expressed by the European Parliament about restrictions on the education of trapped students in Karpasia, with the rejection, among others, of 9 textbooks.
