Europe’s rights watchdog calls on Cyprus to admit migrants trapped in UN b
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The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe has urged the divided Cypriot government to allow nearly three dozen asylum seekers, stranded for months in a UN-controlled buffer zone, to pass through. The Commissioner noted that it is increasingly difficult for migrants in the zone to access essential items like baby formula and diapers.
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty on Wednesday (October 30) called on the Cypriot government to permit passage for nearly three dozen asylum seekers who have been stranded for months in tents within a UN-controlled buffer zone.
“I am concerned about the situation of some 35 people, including young children and other vulnerable persons, who have been in the buffer zone for several months,” O’Flaherty wrote in the letter addressed to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, a couple of months after the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) also urged the Cypriot government to allow the migrants seek asylum.
“Poor living conditions prevail, including reported difficulties in obtaining access to certain items, such as formula milk or diapers for babies, and to medical care in a manner guaranteeing confidentiality and dignity,” O’Flaherty stressed.
Cyprus division and UN buffer zone explained
Cyprus’s political situation is marked by a longstanding division between the Greek Cypriot south and the Turkish Cypriot north, stemming from Turkey’s 1974 invasion following a Greek-led coup. The Cypriot government transferred control of the buffer zone to UN peacekeepers after 1974.
The island remains divided by the UN-controlled buffer zone, with the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus in the south and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognized only by Turkey, in the north. The migrants, originating from countries such as Syria, Iran, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Cameroon, are stranded in that buffer zone. It is understood that all migrants possess Turkish residency permits and arrived in the north via scheduled flights, the Associated Press reported.
Cypriot authorities have consistently stated that they will not allow the buffer zone to turn into a gateway for irregular migration.
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According to the EU human rights watchdog, migrants in the buffer zone also struggle to access interpretation services when needed, and suffer “degrading treatment and the right to private and family life.”
O’Flaherty acknowledged the “seriousness and complexity” of Cypriot authorities’ efforts to control the flow of migrants crossing the buffer zone from the north to seek asylum in the south. However, O’Flaherty emphasized that these challenges do not exempt Cypriot authorities from their obligations under international law to ensure migrants have “effective access to asylum procedures and adequate reception conditions.”
He urged the Cypriot president to guarantee that all maritime operations comply with obligations set by the court ruling and to conduct independent investigations into claims of “unlawful summary returns and mistreatment” of migrants both on land and at sea.
How did Cyprus respond?
In a response letter to O’Flaherty, Christodoulides stressed that Cypriot authorities are obligated to intensify their efforts against people-smuggling networks that transport individuals from mainland Turkey to northern Cyprus and then to the south.
The Cypriot president stated that authorities will “make every effort” in accordance with international law to “prevent the normalization of irregular crossings” through the buffer zone.
Regarding the stranded asylum seekers, Christodoulides noted that the government is providing supplies and healthcare, assuring O’Flaherty that “we will resolve this matter within the next few weeks,” though he did not elaborate further.
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The Cypriot president also defended the patrols conducted by marine police vessels in international waters to deter boats carrying migrants from reaching the island, asserting that the operations fully comply with international law, and denying allegations of seaborne “pushbacks” of migrant vessels.
Migrant crossings from the north to the south have sharply decreased in recent months following the implementation of stringent measures by Cypriot authorities, which included the installation of cameras and the deployment of special police patrols along sections of the 180-kilometer (120-mile) buffer zone, AP reported.
Earlier in October, the European Court of Human Rights determined that Cyprus had violated the rights of two Syrian nationals to seek asylum in the country after detaining them, along with more than two dozen others, aboard a boat at sea for two days before returning them to Lebanon.
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