Kornelios Korneliou, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cyprus to the UN, said on Thursday that the Turkish side has never honoured the agreement reached in Vienna, on August 2, 1975, vis-à-vis the enclaved population in the northern, Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus.
Speaking during a Security Council open debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Korneliou outlined the obligations of the Turkish side in providing “every help to lead a normal life, including facilities for education and for the practice of their religion, as well as medical care by their own doctors and freedom of movement in the north”.
In practice, he pointed out, the Cypriot enclaved were subjected to constant harassment.
Referring to their dwindling numbers, Korneliou said that in July 1974, after more than 160,000 Cypriots were forced to flee their ancestral land, a significant number amounting to 20,000 remained enclaved in the occupied part of the country.
He added that “in 43 years since 1974 this number has diminished from 20,000 to only 403, after being subjected to constant harassment, including physical assaults, restrictions to their movement, denial of access to adequate medical care, denial of adequate educational facilities especially beyond the elementary school level, censorship of school books, curtailment of their right to use and bequeath their immovable property and curtailment of freedom of worship in their churches and monasteries”.
Despite minor improvements in the lives of the enclaved due to the help of UNFICYP, their living conditions remain deplorable and unchanged, the Permanent Representative stressed.
He added that this conclusion is fully in accord with the findings of the European Commission of Human Rights and the judgment of 10 May 2001 of the European Court of Human Rights, which examined the plight of the enclaved as part of the Fourth Interstate Application of Cyprus against Turkey.
Outlining the position of the Cypriot government, Korneliou said that the United Nations will be an effective and credible organization to the extent that it strengthens its ability to respond to the needs of the people in hardship.
The protection of civilians must be at the core of the Security Council’s agenda, not only in connection to peacekeeping missions explicitly mandated for the protection of civilians but as integral part of a comprehensive approach encompassing all aspects related to prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding and the promotion of international peace and security, he concluded.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN-led talks between Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have been underway since May 2015, aiming to reunify the island under a federal roof.