Nicosia: The Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its satisfaction with today’s decision of the Committee of Deputies of the Council of Europe (CoE) on Human Rights, which keeps open the supervision of the implementation of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the Fourth Interstate Application of the Republic of Cyprus against Turkey, regarding the property aspect of the displaced persons.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the above development is the result of systematic and targeted diplomatic actions of the Republic of Cyprus, always in close coordination with the Law Office of the Republic. The Ministry noted in a statement that the support for closure that Turkey raised has decreased compared to the previous vote in 2024. The Republic of Cyprus has consistently held that the illegal sale and exploitation of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied territories by Turkey, which has intensified in recent years, violates the decisions of the ECHR.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that today’s development reaffirms Turkey’s non-compliance with the obligation to end the ongoing violation of the property rights of Greek Cypriot displaced persons. At the same time, it becomes clear that, as long as Turkey continues to fail to comply with the relevant decisions of the ECHR, the termination of the surveillance of the property aspect cannot occur.
Furthermore, the Ministry pointed out that during the meeting, the Republic of Cyprus proposed a decision to prepare a draft resolution for the referral of an interpretative question to the ECHR, regarding the interpretation of paragraph 63 of the 2014 ECtHR judgment on Just Satisfaction. The referral of a question is made in accordance with the provisions of Article 46.3 of the Convention, which provides that in the event that the Committee of Ministers considers that the execution of the judgment is prevented due to an interpretative problem, then it may refer the matter to the Court to answer the interpretative question.
It also added that the said proposal of the Republic of Cyprus, which was presented for the first time in September 2024, showed an increasing trend compared to last year. 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.
The European Court of Human Rights sentenced Turkey in numerous cases, brought forward by Greek Cypriots, concerning the violation of their fundamental human rights, following the 1974 invasion, with regards to their property and the issue of missing persons.