UN report unacceptable, Nicosia says
NICOSIA (AP) – Cyprus slammed a United Nations report on human rights Saturday, calling the findings «unacceptable» because they neglected to mention the Turkish occupation of the northern part of the island state. The report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said: «the human rights concerns in Cyprus derive predominantly from the persisting division of the island which, without a political settlement, remains unresolved.» But Foreign Minister George Iacovou complained that the report omitted the rulings of the Human Rights Court of the Council of Europe that found Turkey guilty of repeatedly violating the rights of Greek Cypriots who had fled from the occupied north. «It is unacceptable to link respect for human rights with political considerations and expediencies,» Iacovou told reporters. The report was presented to the annual meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva earlier this week. «The division of Cyprus has consequences for the enjoyment, on the whole island, of a number of human rights, including freedom of movement, freedom of association, property rights, freedom of religion, family rights, freedom of expression, voting rights, the right to education, the right to health, and human rights issues pertaining to the issue of missing persons,» the report said. It does not say that the violations were due to the Turkish occupation. The report was issued one week after Iacovou, speaking before the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, strongly criticized European governments for failing to censure Turkey’s rejection of judgments of the Human Rights Court. Turkey has refused to comply with the Court’s orders to allow the refugees to return and reclaim their properties in the north. Iacovou also made an indirect appeal to the United Nations for action. «The protection of and promotion of human rights are non-negotiable and cannot be sacrificed in favor of political considerations and expediencies,» he said. «The United Nations’ role as the basic guarantor of the human rights system is therefore both instrumental and indispensable.» The international community has been dealing increasingly with the breakaway state since last April, following the acceptance by the Turkish Cypriots of a reunification plan drafted by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The plan was rejected by the Greek Cypriots, primarily because it rejected the right of all the 180,000 Greek-Cypriot refugees to return and to reclaim their properties, while allowing more than 100,000 Turkish mainland settlers introduced to the north, in violation of the Geneva Conventions, to remain.
