Council of Europe Ministers started on Tuesday reviewing progress made in the implementation of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judgments, including, among others, the cases regarding Turkey`s violations in Cyprus with respect to missing persons and properties in the Turkish-occupied part of the island.
According to a relevant announcement, the representatives of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, comprising the Committee of Ministers, will scrutinize until September 24 the progress made in implementing the Strasbourg-based court`s decisions in a number of cases.
Subject to more detailed examination are cases that concern Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Republic of Moldova, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
With regards to Cyprus, the Committee of Ministers will review the results of the final judgment in the case Cyprus v. Turkey of May 2001. The court had found 14 violations in relation to the situation in the northern part of Cyprus, which remains under Turkish occupation since 1974.
In relation to the 2001 decision, the court ordered Turkey in 2014 to pay 90 mln euros in compensation for invading the northern part of the island. Until now, Turkey has ignored calls to pay the compensation.
Moreover, the representatives of the 47 member states will take stock of progress in the case “Varnava and others” of September 2009, in relation to missing persons.
Back then, the ECHR had noted the lack of effective investigation into the fate of nine Greek Cypriots, who disappeared during Turkey`s invasion of Cyprus, in the summer of 1974.
Finally the Committee of Ministers will also review the judgment concerning the Xenides-Arestis group of March 2006, in relation to properties in the northern Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus.
The ECHR had condemned Turkey of continuously denying owners access to their property in the northern part of Cyprus, as well as of the consequent loss of control. Moreover, it found Ankara was violating the right to respect the applicants` home in some cases.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN-led talks, aiming to reunite the island under a federal roof, resumed on May 15, this year.