In a number of cases[citation needed], the European Court of Human Rights has found Turkey responsible for continuous violations of the European Convention on Human Rights in the Republic of Cyprus as a result of the Turkish Invasion in 1974 and continuous occupation of 37% of its territory. Regarding human rights in the areas under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus, according to the 2010 US Department of State human rights report, there were reports of police abuse and degrading treatment of persons in custody and asylum seekers, as well as instances of discrimination and violence against members of minority ethnic and national groups. Trafficking of women to the island, particularly for sexual exploitation was reportedly a problem. Several instances of violence against women and children were also reported.[2]
Freedom House classified the perceived level of democratic and political freedom in Cyprus as "free" in 2011 in its Freedom in the World report.[3] The US Department of State reported in 2010 that the recent elections were free and fair.[2]
Ibrahim Aziz, who was prevented from voting in the elections, applied to the European Court of Human Rights. In 2004, in the case of Aziz v. Cyprus, the ECHR ruled that his right to vote was denied.[4] After this case, the right to vote was given to the Turkish Cypriots residing in the Republic of Cyprus.[5] However, Turkish Cypriots still cannot run in presidential elections and the Turkish Cypriots which reside in Northern Cyprus cannot vote in elections, even though they are citizens of the Republic of Cyprus.[6]
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.[2] Minority Rights Group International reported in 2011 that minorities in Cyprus faced serious discrimination and they were excluded from policital activity.[7] The US Department of State report in 2005 stated that discrimination against Turkish Cypriots and Roma were problems.[8] There has been some mistreatment of the Turkish Cypriots visiting the area controlled by the Republic of Cyprus.[9]
The US Department of State report about human rights in Cyprus in 2002 said that:
"Some of the approximately 300 Turkish Cypriots living in the government-controlled area faced difficulties in obtaining identification cards and other government documents, especially if they were born after 1974. Turkish Cypriots also appeared to be subjected to surveillance by the Greek Cypriot police."[10]
However, according to the Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis in an interview to Turkish-Cypriot newspaper Kıbrıs in 2011, 93,308 Turkish Cypriots already have ID cards, 58,069 Turkish Cypriots hold Cypriot passports of which 7,376 are biometric.
Fair trial
Although the prisons generally meet international standards, there has been reports that often state that the prisons are overcrowded.[2] There has been reports that the police had phsiycally abused detainees and had discriminated them.[2] Some non-governmental organizations reported that foreign detainees complained that they had been subjected to physical violence.[2]
In 2008, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Cyprus decided that the police had restricted Andreas Constantinou's access to legal aid.[11] 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."[11]
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."[12]
Right to property
In 2005, 25 cases by Turkish Cypriots were filed in the courts of the Republic of Cyprus, stating that they did not have access to their properties in the Republic of Cyprus-controlled areas.[8]
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.[13]
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.[14] Also, in November 2005 press reports said that the police and the municipality had harassed the Buddhist temple in Strovolos.[14]
Nicos Trimikliniotis and Corina Demetriou noted that:
"‘Religious’ discrimination is not exhausted there, however, as the treatment of Jehovah Witness conscientious objectors refusing to serve in the military illustrate."[6]
Right to education
There is currently no school for Turkish Cypriots living in the Republic of Cyprus-controlled areas.[15] Maronites have an elementary school, but no secondary school, and Antonis Hadjiroussos underlines the danger of the assimilation of Maronites into the Greek Cypriot community because of this.[16]
Laws prohibit rape and spousal rape in the Republic of Cyprus. There has been a sharp increase in the number of these crimes in the 2000s.[2] Although sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited, it is a widespread problem, but only few cases are reported to the authorities.[2]
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.[17]
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."[17]
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".[18]
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."[2]
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.[2] The UNHCR also reported in 2006 that the freedom of press was generally respected, and independent press often criticized the authorities.[19] On 18 July 2005, the police used excessive force against demonstrators and journalists at a picket by striking lorry drivers.[20]
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.[21]
In 2007, then President Tassos 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.[21] Kyriakos Pierides reported in 2007 that the "pro-government political and commercial pressures are a constant factor inhibiting the work of the media there".[21]
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.[22]
The World Press Freedom Index ranked Cyprus 45 in 2007,[23] 31 in 2008,[24] 25 in 2009,[25] and ranked it back down to 45 in 2010.[26] In 2016 it was ranked 27th.[27]
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 trafficking from Eastern Europe.[28][29]
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.[30] 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.[8] Another non-governmental organization (NGO) reported in 2005 that the police deported long term residents, as long as 11 years.[8]
A large number of Romanian nationals were subjected to forced labor in the country in 2009.[31] 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.[2] detention by occupying the water-tank tower of the prison in Nicosia and a hunger strike in Limassol.[32]
In September 2020, a Human Rights Watch report alleged that Cyprus was not allowing incoming refugees to claim asylum as required under international law. Authorities were reported to have instead abandoned hundreds refugees and migrants at sea without fuel and food, and in some cases beaten by police.[33]
In December 2020, a decree was passed by interior minister Nicos Nouris that forebode any asylum seekers from establishing permanent residency in the village of Chloraka.[34] A series of brawls that took place in the village in January 2022, one of which involved two police officers firing warning shots, has caused concern among local residents over shifting demographics.[35] A protest attended by members of parliament supported the deportation of the asylum seekers, with community leader Nicos Liasides asserting that "the situation has reached the point of no return".[36]
Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1998 after the case of Modinos v. Cyprus of the European Court of Human Rights, 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.[37]
Violations of Articles 2, 3 and 5 concerning Greek-Cypriot missing persons and their relatives;
Violations of Articles 8, 13 and P1-1 concerning home and property of displaced Greek-Cypriots;
Violations of Articles 3, 8, 9, 10, 13, P1-1 and P1-2 concerning living conditions of Greek Cypriots in Karpas region of northern Cyprus;
Violation of Article 6, concerning rights of Turkish Cypriots living in northern Cyprus;
In 2011, in its annual report, the UN Commission on Human Rights has reiterated is calls for the full restoration of all human rights to the population of Cyprus, in particular to refugees, called for the tracing of and accounting for missing persons in Cyprus without any further delay, and called for the restoration and respect of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots, including freedom of movement, the freedom of settlement and the right to property.[38]
Other issues
The constant focus on the division of the island sometimes masks other human rights issues.[39] In 2005, Bulgarian citizens living in Northern Cyprus were not allowed to pass the Green Line and vote in Bulgarian elections.[8]
The European Convention on Human Rights is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953. All Council of Europe member states are party to the convention and new members are expected to ratify the convention at the earliest opportunity.
Human rights in Turkey are protected by a variety of international law treaties, which take precedence over domestic legislation, according to Article 90 of the 1982 Constitution. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) was not signed by Turkey until 2000. As of today, however, Turkey is party to 16 out of 18 international human rights treaties of the United Nations. The issue of human rights is of high importance for the negotiations with the European Union (EU).
Loizidou v. Turkey is a landmark legal case regarding the rights of refugees wishing to return to their former homes and properties.
Enclaved Greek Cypriots are the Greek Cypriots who have remained in enclaved villages in Northern Cyprus after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.
This article covers the civilian casualties and displacements that occurred between 1963 and 1975 – from the outbreak of the intercommunal fighting until the end of displacements following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
Bulgaria joined the Council of Europe and ratified the European Convention on Human Rights in 1992 and joined the European Union in 2007. Despite this, Bulgarian compliance with human rights norms falls below the standard expected of an ECHR signatory. The European Court of Human Rights noted that of 596 applications dealt with by the Court in 2022, 25 resulted in a judgement finding at least one human rights violation.
Human rights in Croatia are defined by the Constitution of Croatia, chapter three, sections 14 through 69.
The state of affairs with human rights in Transnistria has been criticized by several governments and international organizations. The Republic of Moldova, and other states and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) claim that the government of Transnistria is authoritarian and has a record of arbitrary arrest and torture.
Turkey is a secular state in accordance with Article 24 of its constitution. Secularism in Turkey derives from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's Six Arrows: republicanism, populism, laïcité, reformism, nationalism and statism. The Turkish government imposes some restrictions on Muslims and other religious groups, as well as Muslim religious expression in government offices and state-run institutions, including universities.
Liechtenstein, a multiparty constitutional monarchy with a unicameral parliament and a government chosen by the reigning prince at its direction, is generally considered to be a prosperous and free country that is also generally considered to have an excellent human-rights record.
Human rights in Latvia are generally respected by the government, according to the US Department of State and Freedom House. Latvia is ranked above-average among the world's sovereign states in democracy, press freedom, privacy and human development. The country has a relatively large ethnic Russian community, which has basic rights guaranteed under the constitution and international human rights laws ratified by the Latvian government.
Leyla Şahin v. Turkey was a 2004 European Court of Human Rights case brought against Turkey by a medical student challenging a Turkish law which bans wearing the Islamic headscarf at universities and other educational and state institutions. The Court upheld the Turkish law by 16 votes to 1.
Queer Cyprus Association is an LGBTQ rights organisation in Northern Cyprus aimed to deal with criminal law amendments of TRNC which criminalises same-sex relationships. They seek equal human rights including to "fully decriminalize homosexuality, equalize the age of consent and better protect LGBTQ people under the law.”
The constitution of Northern Cyprus protects the freedom of religion, and it states that Northern Cyprus is a secular state.
According to international observers, human rights in Belgium are generally respected and the law and the judiciary provides effective means of addressing individual instances of abuse. However, some concerns have been reported by international human rights officials over the treatment of asylum seekers, prison overcrowding and the banning of full face veils. Capital punishment is fully abolished and a prohibition on the death penalty is included in the Constitution of Belgium. Belgium was a founding member of the European Union and the Council of Europe and a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights. Belgium has minimal issues regarding corruption and was ranked 15 out of 167 countries surveyed in Transparency International's 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index.
Human 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, right to education, right to life, right to property, and the rights of displaced persons. The rights of Greek Cypriots displaced by the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, notably their rights to property and right of return, is one of the focal points of ongoing negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus question.
TV, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues.
In September 1967, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands brought the Greek case to the European Commission of Human Rights, alleging violations of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) by the Greek junta, which had taken power earlier that year. In 1969, the Commission found serious violations, including torture; the junta reacted by withdrawing from the Council of Europe. The case received significant press coverage and was "one of the most famous cases in the Convention's history", according to legal scholar Ed Bates.
Human rights in Hungary are governed by the Constitution of Hungary, laws passed by the National Assembly, and oversight of international organizations such as the Council of Europe. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have raised concern for the status of human rights in Hungary under the rule of Viktor Orbán and the Fidesz party since 2010.
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