Today,
we mark the 65th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights which, since its adoption in 1948, is regarded as the cornerstone in the
field of fundamental rights and freedoms.
On
this Human Rights Day, many people around the world still do not enjoy the full
spectrum of their human rights. The Republic of Cyprus adds its voice to the
international community and associates itself to the declaration by the EU High
Representative, in this regard.
For
more than 39 years the people of Cyprus continue to endure blatant violations
of their fundamental human rights as a result of the illegal military
occupation of 37% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkey. Ηundreds
of Cypriot missing persons remain unaccounted for, the internally displaced
persons continue to be deprived of their homes and properties while the few
hundreds of enclaved people who still reside in the occupied part of Cyprus
continue to endure restrictions in exercising their fundamental human rights.
Turkey has obligations deriving from international law, including judgments of
the ECHR, to restitute these inalienable rights.
The Government of the Republic of Cyprus pursues its efforts with an
unwavering commitment for a comprehensive solution of the Cyprus problem, based
on the provisions of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and
international law, which will restore the fundamental human rights and freedoms
of all Cypriots.
As
a Member State of the European Union, Cyprus is concerned by the increasingly widespread
violence and abuse of human rights, and remains, despite the economic difficulties, determined to promote actively the
protection of all human rights of all persons. The respect of human rights is of paramount importance and
the efforts of the Cypriot authorities to that effect will continue unabated.
In
this regard, Cyprus looks forward to participating in its second Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which will take place
at the headquarters of the UN in Geneva, in February 2014. The UPR is the fundamental mechanism of the United
Nations which involves a review of the human rights
records of all UN Member States. As such, it will give Cyprus the opportunity to
present its progress in the field of the implementation of human rights and
share its best practices and lessons learned with the international community.
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