Day: November 2, 2021

Cyprus supports Ambassador Andreas Mavroyiannis’ candidacy for the UN International Law Commission, the country’s representative Haris Chrysostomou said on Monday.

Chrysostomou, who according to the Press and Information Office was addressing the UN Assembly on the Commission’s report said, among other things, that “in order to address effectively the matter of coastal erosion, affected coastal states should be entitled to designate permanent baselines pursuant to Article 16 of UNCLOS, which would withstand any subsequent regression of the low-water line.”

This view, he noted, “is in conformity with UNCLOS and aims at safeguarding coastal states’ legal entitlements in light of the ongoing, worrisome developments generated by climate change.”

Moreover, he added, “baselines must be permanent and not ambulatory so as to achieve greater predictability on maritime boundaries.”

According to Chrysostomou the position is in line with UNCLOS and international jurisprudence.

Cyprus, he noted, “has consistently supported the Commission and continues to attach great importance to the ILC’s work in contributing to the codification and progressive development of international law.” He further expressed the Republic’s support in Mavroyiannis` Commission candidacy.

Referring to the rising sea levels, he said that that they “pose a grave threat to the lives and livelihoods of populations across the globe and, in particular, those of low-lying coastal states and small-island developing states.”

Indeed, he added, “as an island-state itself, Cyprus has experienced directly the gravity of various consequences of climate change, including climate change-induced sea level rise.”

He further recalled that the Study Group has undertaken to simply outline key issues on three identified areas. “It has no mandate whatsoever to propose modifications to existing international law, including the customary nature of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and, in particular, Article 121 on the regime of islands,” he pointed out.

My delegation, Chrysostomou said, “cannot overstate the indispensability of fully respecting the letter and spirit of UNCLOS in conducting such work and of ensuring that the content of the said study will fully comply with the Convention.”

Cyprus shares the concern of many of the members of the Committee, as it was reported in this year’s ILC Report, as well as the concerns of many member states as regards to the ILC tampering with the regime of islands. This is strictly outside of the scope of the ILC’s mandate. Cyprus calls for caution in addressing this topic, he noted.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus has become one of the more than 100 states to endorse an agreement reached at Glasgow’s COP26 climate summit to terminate and reverse deforestation by 2030.

In a video message shown during an event hosted by the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to sign the ‘Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use’, the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades said that forests matter to him and his country, as forests, forest-based sector, biodiversity and sustainable land use are an essential part in Cyprus’s transition to a modern, climate neutral and resource-efficient economy.

“The commitments and actions proposed in the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use will deliver growing, healthy, diverse and resilient forests and ensure their significant contribution to our climate and biodiversity ambitions, thriving livelihoods in rural areas and beyond, and a sustainable forest bioeconomy” the President noted.

“Cyprus therefore endorses the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration and commits to working collectively to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation,” said President Anastasiades.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades has used his National Statement during the plenary of the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow to set out his government’s action plan to tackle climate change.

President Anastasiades noted that the world needs to strengthen the efforts to fulfil the promises already made, as, despite them, “there is no sign that we are growing back greener, since not only planetary warming is accelerating, but we are witnessing around the globe protracted heat waves, devastating fires and deforestation, increased water scarcity, droughts, floods and extreme weather patterns.”

He said that COP26 could and should prove to be the “historic milestone” in the efforts to address the said devastating impacts.

In this regard, he added, Cyprus fully endorses and supports the initiatives and declarations of COP26 on halting deforestation, on the transition to coal-free power, on accelerating transition to 100% zero emission cars, as well as the US initiative on methane use.

President Anastasiades added that Cyprus also remains fully committed to take all necessary measures so as to achieve the Paris Agreement and the EU targets, with the aim of achieving a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

“To this end, and as a first step in accomplishing these ambitious but highly-needed goals, my country will allocate more than 500 million euro up until 2026, adopting new policies and measures as regards using cleaner fuels – such as natural gas and renewable energy sources – and promoting necessary investments in the relevant areas of Transport, Agriculture, Industry, Land Use and Forestry and Waste Management,” said the President of the Republic.

“As a small country,” he went on to say, “we do acknowledge that our national contribution towards tackling the impacts of climate change is indeed limited. We, therefore, seek to enhance regional cooperation through coordinated synergies and sharing best practices, taking into account that the Mediterranean and Middle East is classified as a global ‘climate change hot-spot’.”

As he explained, within this framework, Cyprus has undertaken the initiative of developing a Regional Action Plan, with the involvement of more than 240 scientists from the wider region, as well as various international organisations, who are already preparing policy recommendations, measures and specific solutions.

He added that once the the scientific part of the Action Plan has been finalised, Cyprus will hold a Ministerial Meeting and a Leaders’ Summit that will initiate appropriate coordination and monitoring mechanisms for the implementation of the commitments.

“We are compelled, and people expect from us, to take on urgent action to address climate change and I am certain that you will agree with me that the time to act is upon us. Our vision should be none other than to look to the future with optimism and to use the climate challenge as an opportunity to proudly demonstrate what all countries, what humanity can achieve when we join forces. I have no doubt that by decisively cooperating and acting together, with unity and greater urgency, we will be able to overcome the dire consequences of a warming planet and bring forward the necessary changes for a sustainable future,” President Anastasiades concluded.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou has expressed gratitude for the undivided and uninterrupted support by Serbia in Cyprus’ struggle for a viable and fair solution to the Cyprus problem, based on international law, the relevant UN security Council resolutions and European principles.

Demetriou was addressing the Serbian National Assembly in the framework of her official visit to Serbia.

She underlined the clear position of Cyprus for non-recognition of the unilateral independence of Kosovo and assured that the Republic of Cyprus, as an EU member state, supports and will continue to support Serbia’s European prospects.

Addressing the parliament in the presence of the Serbian government and the capital’s diplomatic corps, who welcomed her with a prolonged applause, Demetriou conveyed the appreciation of the members of the House of Representatives and the people of Cyprus, noting that her official visit underlines the “common willingness and commitment to further strengthen and expand the existing excellent relations of the two parliaments for the benefit of both peoples.”

The close relations, said Demetriou, go back in time, in the Yugoslavia era and the Non-Aligned Movement, and are based on powerful historical, cultural and religious bonds and are further strengthened by our dedication to the principles of democracy, justice and peace.

She underlined that these relations of solidarity and mutual support on issues of major importance for each country, as well as relations of strategic orientation, aim at highlighting and consolidating the “important role played by our two countries in the efforts to achieve conditions of peace, security and stability in the strategically important regions of the Balkans and the Mediterranean”.

The House President expressed deep appreciation and recognition of the Serbian people’s contribution to “Cyprus through its participation in the UNFICYP with a Serbian contingent as well as its support to the inalienable right of the Republic of Cyprus to exercise its sovereign rights within the exclusive economic zone”.

Referring to the Cyprus problem, Demetriou said that for more than 40 years after the military invasion and continued occupation by Turkey of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, the people of Cyprus continue to fight for reunification of their land, to get rid of the occupation forces and achieve the return of refugees to their homeland.

She said that we continue to “convey in every direction that our goal was and remains to achieve a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem, on the basis of international law, the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the European principles”.

A solution providing for a bizonal, bicommunal federation, she added, without “anachronistic guarantees, occupation troops”, a solution that will turn Cyprus into a modern, viable and functional state, whose citizens will determine the present and future of the island in conditions of security, stability and harmonious co-existence, as required by our European identity.

Demetriou said that our efforts clash with Turkey’s expansionist policy and intransigence while its provocativeness dangerously increases not only against Cyprus and Greece but also in the wider region.

She said that the Turkish side is demanding a two-state solution, in violation of the relevant UN resolutions and the agreed UN framework for a solution to the Cyprus issue.

We will never accept such unacceptable positions which are outright rejected by the UN, the EU and the international community, underlining that Turkey is also creating new fait accompli on land and in the sea.

“The continued violations in Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone and the opening of the fenced-off part of Varosha at the order of the Turkish President, violating UN Security Council resolutions 550 and 789 as well as Erdogan’s declarations to further militarise the occupied areas, are all part of Turkey’s expansionist policy against the people of Cyprus, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots”, she added.

In her address, before the plenary of the National Assembly of Serbia, the President of the Parliament reaffirmed “the position of principles and the firm support of the Republic of Cyprus in fully respecting the sovereign rights and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia”, stressing that “it is a historical duty” and a clear stance of the Republic of Cyprus not to recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo.

She also welcomed the progress Serbia has achieved in its accession negotiations and said that as an EU member state, the Republic of Cyprus supports and will continue to support the European prospects of Serbia and wished that Serbia will be a member of the European family.

“For Cyprus, Serbia`s accession to the European Union is a prerequisite for consolidating stability in the Balkans, which is inextricably linked to security and stability in Europe, and we support this position within the Union institutions,” she said. Serbia, she added, will “always have a sincere, selfless and stable ambassador, who sincerely believes that Serbia`s future can only be European and certainly a reliable partner after accession”.

She assured that the House of Representatives is ready to provide Serbia with expertise on harmonisation issues in the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two parliaments in 2018.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the island`s northern third.

Source: Cyprus News Agency