Human rights in Cyprus
Encyclopedia
Human rights in Cyprus are protected by the constitution of the Republic of Cyprus.
In 2010, the US Department of State reported that:
classified the perceived level of democratic and political freedom in Cyprus as "free" in 2011 in its Freedom in the World report. The US Department of State reported in 2010 that the recent elections were free and fair.
s reported that foreign detainees complained that they had been subjected to physical violence.
In 2008, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Cyprus decided that the police had restricted Andreas Constantinou's access to legal aid. Also, in 2008, the ECHR said that "a question arises as to the conformity of such legislation with the requirements of Article 6 of the Convention [...] there is a priori no reason why it should not be made available in spheres other than criminal law."
In the case of Panovits v. Cyprus in 2009, the ECHR ruled that:
In November 2005 the Ombudsman's Office issued a report on a complaint from Jehovah's Witnesses whose child was excused from religious instruction but who was subsequently harassed by fellow students and pressured by a religious instructor. The report concluded that the student's complaint was valid and that the instructor's remarks during a lesson on religious sects violated the student's religious freedom. Also, in November 2005 press reports said that the police and the municipality had harassed the Buddhist temple in Strovolos
.
In 1996, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Concluding Observations noted that women were not represented in political life much, they were absent from higher levels of the government, the trafficking of women and their sexual exploitation was against human rights, there was sexual harassment in the workplace, and women were not paid equal money for work of equal value.
The committee also said:
In 2006, the same committee expressed their concern about discrimination against women migrants, including domestic helpers and agricultural workers, lower number of women which have the PhD degree when compared with men, and "the lack of a comprehensive and systematic approach to gender equality policies".
A US Department of State report in 2010 stated that:
in 2006, Turkish national journalists were not allowed to pass the Green Line and cover a football match between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. In 18 July 2005, the police used excessive force against demonstrators and journalists at a picket by striking lorry drivers. The KISA
, an anti-racist organization, has been graffittied with swastika
s for many times, and its chairperson was arrested in early 2008.
In 2004, the media was stifled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus to broadcast programmes against the Annan Plan for Cyprus
. European Commissioner Günter Verheugen
was refused to air-time on any Greek Cypriot TV channel because if he was not refused, he would present arguments supporting the plan.
In 2007, the newspaper of Politis was described by Chrysostomos II as a "Greek-speaking Turkish newspaper". In 2004, Tassos Papadopoulos
accused the Democratic Rally
of presenting the Turkish viewpoint. In 2007, Papadopoulos "personally intervened" to force the dismissal of the press attaché at the Cyprus High Commission in London, Soteris Georgallis, because he had attended to a book presentation which was addressed by a critic of Papadopoulos, Takis Hadjidemetriou. Kyriakos Pierides reported in 2007 that the "pro-government political and commercial pressures are a constant factor inhibiting the work of the media there".
In 2008, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, in a report written by the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation and the Turkish Cypriot Journalists’ Union reported that the government of the Republic of Cyprus were violating the rights of Turkish Cypriots on the freedom of press. It added that the change in Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation
's broadcasting frequency prevented many Turkish Cypriot TV channels broadcasting in Northern Cyprus, thus violating the freedom of the speech.
The World Press Freedom Index ranked Cyprus 45 in 2007, 31 in 2008, 25 in 2009, and ranked down it to 45 in 2010.
from Eastern Europe.
In May 2011, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights said that rejected asylum-seekers were kept for too long in detention and inconvenient conditions. In May 2005, the KISA accused the police of violating the law and the human rights of asylum seekers by carrying out illegal arrests, detentions, and deportations. Another non-governmental organization (NGO) reported in 2005 that the police deported long term residents, as long as 11 years.
In 2005, the police killed a Syrian asylum seeker, it was allegedly self-defense, but the Syrians in the car claimed that they were all unarmed. A large number of Romanian nationals were subjected to forced labor in the country in 2009. In August 2009 the UNHCR complained through the media that a Kurdish child suffering from a terminal congenital condition was denied government funding to travel abroad for medical treatment because of his refugee status, in contravention of the country's refugee law, which provides refugees access to the same medical treatment as Cypriots and other EU citizens. In 2010, non-governmental organizations reported that social services and psychological treatment at the shelters of the refugees were inadequate, particularly for trafficking victims who do not speak the local languages.
In 2007, the detained asylum seekers in Nicosia and Limassol protested the long detention by occupying the water-tank tower of the prison in Nicosia and a hunger strike in Limassol.
, but the Cyprus military still bars homosexuals from serving on the grounds that homosexuality is a mental illness; gay sexual conduct remains a crime under military law; the term is 6 months in a military jail although this is rarely, if ever, enforced.
ILGA noted in 2001 that:
In 2010, the US Department of State reported that:
"Problems were reported in some areas. There were reports of police abuse and degrading treatment of persons in custody and asylum seekers. Violence against women, including spousal abuse, and several incidents of violence against children were reported. There were instances of discrimination and violence against members of minority ethnic and national groups. Trafficking of women to the island, particularly for sexual exploitation, continued to be a problem, and labor trafficking was also reported."
Democratic freedom
Freedom HouseFreedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
classified the perceived level of democratic and political freedom in Cyprus as "free" in 2011 in its Freedom in the World report. The US Department of State reported in 2010 that the recent elections were free and fair.
Rights of minorities
US Department of State reported in 2010 that there were instances of discrimination and violence against members of minority ethnic and national groups. Minority Rights Grup International reported in 2011 that minorities in Cyprus faced serious discrimination and they were excluded from policital activity.Rights of detainees
Although the prisons generally meet international standards, there has been reports that often state that the prisons are overcrowded. There has been reports that the police had phsiycally abused detainees and had discriminated them. Some non-governmental organizationNon-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s reported that foreign detainees complained that they had been subjected to physical violence.
In 2008, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Cyprus decided that the police had restricted Andreas Constantinou's access to legal aid. Also, in 2008, the ECHR said that "a question arises as to the conformity of such legislation with the requirements of Article 6 of the Convention [...] there is a priori no reason why it should not be made available in spheres other than criminal law."
In the case of Panovits v. Cyprus in 2009, the ECHR ruled that:
"In these circumstances, the Court concludes that the Assize Court’s handling of the confrontation with the applicant’s defence counsel rendered the trial unfair. It follows that there has been a violation of Article 6 § 1 in this respect."
Freedom of religion
The US Department of State reported in 2010 that freedom of religion was generally respected by the government. The government conserves the mosques. Although there are 17 mosques in the Republic of Cyprus-controlled area, only five of them are in public use.In November 2005 the Ombudsman's Office issued a report on a complaint from Jehovah's Witnesses whose child was excused from religious instruction but who was subsequently harassed by fellow students and pressured by a religious instructor. The report concluded that the student's complaint was valid and that the instructor's remarks during a lesson on religious sects violated the student's religious freedom. Also, in November 2005 press reports said that the police and the municipality had harassed the Buddhist temple in Strovolos
Strovolos
Strovolos is a municipality of Nicosia. With a population of near 70,000, it is the second biggest municipality of Cyprus, after Limassol, and the biggest municipality of Nicosia...
.
Right to education
There is currently no school for Turkish Cypriots living in the Republic of Cyprus-controlled areas. Maronites have an elementary school, but no secondary school, and Antonis Hadjiroussos underlines the danger of assimilation of Maronites to the Greek Cypriot community because of this.Rights of women
Laws prohibit rape and spousal rape in the Republic of Cyprus. There has been a sharp increase in the number ıf these crimes in 2000s. Although sexual harassment in workplace is prohibited, it is a widespread problem, but only few cases are reported to the authorities.In 1996, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Concluding Observations noted that women were not represented in political life much, they were absent from higher levels of the government, the trafficking of women and their sexual exploitation was against human rights, there was sexual harassment in the workplace, and women were not paid equal money for work of equal value.
The committee also said:
"The Committee exhorts the Government to extend full social security coverage to self-employed rural women and to abolish existing discrimination in this respect between married and unmarried women. The Committee urges the Government to implement special sensitization and training programmes in gender issues for all law enforcement officials and judges, particularly judges in family courts. The Committee strongly recommends that urgent special temporary measures be adopted, under article 4 of the Convention, with the aim of substantially increasing the presence of women in all areas of public and political life, as well as actively promoting their position in the senior management of the civil service and in the diplomatic service. The Committee urges the Government to explore the proposal of non-governmental organizations to establish an equal opportunities commission to deal with complaints by women and to serve in a mediatory capacity."
In 2006, the same committee expressed their concern about discrimination against women migrants, including domestic helpers and agricultural workers, lower number of women which have the PhD degree when compared with men, and "the lack of a comprehensive and systematic approach to gender equality policies".
A US Department of State report in 2010 stated that:
"On January 7, the ECHR ruled in Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia that Cyprus failed to protect 20-year-old Russian cabaret artist Oxana Rantseva from human trafficking and failed to conduct an effective investigation into the circumstances of her death in 2001."
Freedom of press and speech
In 2010, the US Department of State reported that the law provided for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice. The UNHCR also reported in 2006 that the freedom of press was generally respected, and independent press often criticized the authorities. However, the UNHCR also reported that although Turkish Cypriot journalists were allowed to cross the Green LineGreen Line
- Geographic demarcations :* Green Line, a name for the Gothic Line or "Linea Gotica", a German defensive line in Italy during World War II, renamed the "Green Line" in June 1944...
in 2006, Turkish national journalists were not allowed to pass the Green Line and cover a football match between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. In 18 July 2005, the police used excessive force against demonstrators and journalists at a picket by striking lorry drivers. The KISA
KISA (NGO)
The Movement for Equality, Support, Anti-Racism , is a Cypriot Non-Governmental Organisation. It was founded in 1998 in response to changes in Cypriot society, which saw large waves of immigration from Eastern European and Third World countries....
, an anti-racist organization, has been graffittied with swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
s for many times, and its chairperson was arrested in early 2008.
In 2004, the media was stifled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus to broadcast programmes against the Annan Plan for Cyprus
Annan Plan for Cyprus
The Annan Plan was a United Nations proposal to resolve the Cyprus dispute, reuniting the breakaway Northern Cyprus with the Republic of Cyprus. The proposal was to restructure Cyprus as the "United Cyprus Republic", which would be a federation of two states. It was revised a number of times before...
. European Commissioner Günter Verheugen
Günter Verheugen
-Erler:At around the same time, photographs appeared showing him holidaying with Petra Erler, the head of his private office. A Commission spokesman backed him by saying "the private holidays of Vice President Verheugen in Lithuania this summer did not violate the rules applicable to members of the...
was refused to air-time on any Greek Cypriot TV channel because if he was not refused, he would present arguments supporting the plan.
In 2007, the newspaper of Politis was described by Chrysostomos II as a "Greek-speaking Turkish newspaper". In 2004, Tassos Papadopoulos
Tassos Papadopoulos
Tassos Nikolaou Papadopoulos was a Cypriot politician. He served as the fifth President of the Republic of Cyprus from February 28, 2003 to February 28, 2008.His parents were Nicolas and Aggeliki from Assia. He was the first of three children...
accused the Democratic Rally
Democratic Rally
The Democratic Rally , is a centre-right political party in Cyprus, led by Nicos Anastasiades.The party was founded on 4 July 1976 by veteran politician Glafkos Klerides. Clerides served as Cyprus president from 1993 until 2003....
of presenting the Turkish viewpoint. In 2007, Papadopoulos "personally intervened" to force the dismissal of the press attaché at the Cyprus High Commission in London, Soteris Georgallis, because he had attended to a book presentation which was addressed by a critic of Papadopoulos, Takis Hadjidemetriou. Kyriakos Pierides reported in 2007 that the "pro-government political and commercial pressures are a constant factor inhibiting the work of the media there".
In 2008, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, in a report written by the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation and the Turkish Cypriot Journalists’ Union reported that the government of the Republic of Cyprus were violating the rights of Turkish Cypriots on the freedom of press. It added that the change in Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation
Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation
The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation ) or CyBC is Cyprus's public broadcasting service, transmitting island-wide on four radio and two television channels. CyBC is a non-profit organization that utilises its entire income for the promotion of its main mission, which is the objective provision of...
's broadcasting frequency prevented many Turkish Cypriot TV channels broadcasting in Northern Cyprus, thus violating the freedom of the speech.
The World Press Freedom Index ranked Cyprus 45 in 2007, 31 in 2008, 25 in 2009, and ranked down it to 45 in 2010.
Human trafficking and rights of asylum seekers
Prostitution is rife in Cyprus, and the island has been criticized for its role in the sex trade as one of the main routes of human traffickingHuman trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
from Eastern Europe.
In May 2011, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights said that rejected asylum-seekers were kept for too long in detention and inconvenient conditions. In May 2005, the KISA accused the police of violating the law and the human rights of asylum seekers by carrying out illegal arrests, detentions, and deportations. Another non-governmental organization (NGO) reported in 2005 that the police deported long term residents, as long as 11 years.
In 2005, the police killed a Syrian asylum seeker, it was allegedly self-defense, but the Syrians in the car claimed that they were all unarmed. A large number of Romanian nationals were subjected to forced labor in the country in 2009. In August 2009 the UNHCR complained through the media that a Kurdish child suffering from a terminal congenital condition was denied government funding to travel abroad for medical treatment because of his refugee status, in contravention of the country's refugee law, which provides refugees access to the same medical treatment as Cypriots and other EU citizens. In 2010, non-governmental organizations reported that social services and psychological treatment at the shelters of the refugees were inadequate, particularly for trafficking victims who do not speak the local languages.
In 2007, the detained asylum seekers in Nicosia and Limassol protested the long detention by occupying the water-tank tower of the prison in Nicosia and a hunger strike in Limassol.
LGBT rights
Homosexuality was decriminalized after the case of Modinos v. CyprusModinos v. Cyprus
Modinos v. Cyprus is a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights concerning Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights- Case :...
, but the Cyprus military still bars homosexuals from serving on the grounds that homosexuality is a mental illness; gay sexual conduct remains a crime under military law; the term is 6 months in a military jail although this is rarely, if ever, enforced.
ILGA noted in 2001 that:
"Cypriot society is small and everyone practically knows everyone else, and homosexuality is considered a great social stigma. The slightest suspicion of homosexuality is enough to make a person an outcast. Homosexuals suffer anxiety, discrimination and unhappiness with the result that they are forced to conceal their sexual orientation."
The Missing
On 8 April 2008, an International Committee on Missing Persons press release recorded that, since the Cyprus intercommunal violence began in the 1950s, 502 Turkish Cypriots and 1468 Greek Cypriots were reported as missing through official channels. 252 burial sites and 510 individuals had been exhumed. 136 persons have been identified and their remains returned to their families.Other issues
The constant focus on the division of the island sometimes masks other human rights issues. In 2005, Bulgarian citizens living in Northern Cyprus were not allowed to pass the Green Line and vote in Bulgarian elections.See also
- Human rights in Northern CyprusHuman rights in Northern CyprusHuman rights in Northern Cyprus are protected by the constitution of Northern Cyprus. However, there have been reports of violations of the human rights of minorities, democratic freedom, freedom from discrimination, freedom from torture, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, freedom of speech,...
- Freedom of religion in CyprusFreedom of religion in CyprusThe Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice. There were few reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice, and prominent societal leaders took positive steps to...
- LGBT rights in Cyprus
External links
- http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/eur/154419.htm US State Report on Cyprus Human Rights