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Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed his concerns in a letter published on Wednesday, over the situation of migrants and asylum seekers within the UN-controlled buffer zone in Cyprus. He urged the Cypriot government to abide by its obligations under international law regarding migratory movements, not only within the buffer zone but also throughout all the areas under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Cyprus. He also called for respect towards these obligations during rescue operations in international waters.
O’Flaherty addressed his letter to the President of Cyprus and stated that he recognized the challenges of handling migration in the region. However, O’Flaherty voiced concern about the living conditions of 35 migrants and asylum seekers who had been stranded in the buffer zone for several months under poor conditions.
The commissioner explained that these people included children and other vulnerable people who required additional protection, which the authorities failed to provide, in violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This includes the provision of vital items for children, proper medical care, and also access to interpretation services. Therefore, he asked Cypriot authorities to provide adequate reception conditions to all individuals stranded in the buffer zone and proposed their immediate admission into the government-controlled areas. The commissioner also highlighted instances of “excessive and unnecessary force” by local authorities against migrants in these areas and called on authorities to conduct proper investigations.
Furthermore, O’Flaherty expressed his worry about the summary return of migrants at sea without prior access to identification procedures. He explained that preventing boats carrying migrants from disembarking in Cyprus has led to the forced return of these individuals to their countries of origin without undergoing asylum procedures. This constituted a violation of the non-refoulement principle outlined in Article 33 of the UN Refugee Convention and Article 3 of the ECHR.
The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, replied in a separate letter that his government is committed to cooperating with the EU to address the migration crisis in compliance with international law and European human rights standards. Concerning the situation in the buffer zone, the president asserted that local authorities have been providing all the necessary aid. However, he recognized that authorities implemented enhanced surveillance measures in the area. He explained that these measures aimed at halting smuggling networks from facilitating the entry of migrants to government-controlled areas through the Green Line. Finally, he assured that the humanitarian condition in the buffer zone will be resolved within the next few weeks.
The treatment of migrants by Cyprus has drawn international criticism as the country has been facing increasing refugee arrivals since the beginning of 2024. The UN Refugee Agency has previously urged Cyprus to halt the pushback of refugee boats reaching its shores from Lebanon. Just a week prior, the government announced the suspension of asylum application processing for Syrian refugees. Additionally, a Human Rights Watch report indicated that Cyprus violated the human rights of Syrian refugees by forcibly deporting them back to Lebanon and preventing them from seeking asylum in Europe. This was corroborated by the European Court of Human Rights which ruled that Cyprus’s actions towards Syrian refugees contravened the ECHR.
The post Situation of refugees in Cyprus sparks EU human rights commissioner concern appeared first on JURIST - News.
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O’Flaherty addressed his letter to the President of Cyprus and stated that he recognized the challenges of handling migration in the region. However, O’Flaherty voiced concern about the living conditions of 35 migrants and asylum seekers who had been stranded in the buffer zone for several months under poor conditions.
The commissioner explained that these people included children and other vulnerable people who required additional protection, which the authorities failed to provide, in violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This includes the provision of vital items for children, proper medical care, and also access to interpretation services. Therefore, he asked Cypriot authorities to provide adequate reception conditions to all individuals stranded in the buffer zone and proposed their immediate admission into the government-controlled areas. The commissioner also highlighted instances of “excessive and unnecessary force” by local authorities against migrants in these areas and called on authorities to conduct proper investigations.
Furthermore, O’Flaherty expressed his worry about the summary return of migrants at sea without prior access to identification procedures. He explained that preventing boats carrying migrants from disembarking in Cyprus has led to the forced return of these individuals to their countries of origin without undergoing asylum procedures. This constituted a violation of the non-refoulement principle outlined in Article 33 of the UN Refugee Convention and Article 3 of the ECHR.
The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, replied in a separate letter that his government is committed to cooperating with the EU to address the migration crisis in compliance with international law and European human rights standards. Concerning the situation in the buffer zone, the president asserted that local authorities have been providing all the necessary aid. However, he recognized that authorities implemented enhanced surveillance measures in the area. He explained that these measures aimed at halting smuggling networks from facilitating the entry of migrants to government-controlled areas through the Green Line. Finally, he assured that the humanitarian condition in the buffer zone will be resolved within the next few weeks.
The treatment of migrants by Cyprus has drawn international criticism as the country has been facing increasing refugee arrivals since the beginning of 2024. The UN Refugee Agency has previously urged Cyprus to halt the pushback of refugee boats reaching its shores from Lebanon. Just a week prior, the government announced the suspension of asylum application processing for Syrian refugees. Additionally, a Human Rights Watch report indicated that Cyprus violated the human rights of Syrian refugees by forcibly deporting them back to Lebanon and preventing them from seeking asylum in Europe. This was corroborated by the European Court of Human Rights which ruled that Cyprus’s actions towards Syrian refugees contravened the ECHR.
The post Situation of refugees in Cyprus sparks EU human rights commissioner concern appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.