Chair of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Damien Cottier, thanked the House of Representatives and the head of the Cyprus delegation at PACE for organizing a meeting of the Committee in Cyprus.
The Committee convened in Larnaka on the 22 and 23 of May, following an initiative by MP Nicos Tornaritis, head of the Cyprus delegation at PACE.
According to a press release, Cottier praised the importance of the opportunity that the Committee members have had to gain their own understanding of the situation in Cyprus, especially with their visit to the government controlled area of Famagusta, as well as to understand in depth other critical issues for Cyprus, which are related to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Furthermore, it is noted that such issues concern mostly the implementation of the decisions of the Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for Cyprus and the progress in the implementation of the necessary reforms for compliance, as well as broader issues arising from the 4th Interstate Appeal of Cyprus against Turkey (Loizidou case) and the recently taken decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to end the monitoring of the case, without the fulfillment by Turkey of its obligations towards Cyprus.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency
