Turkey challenges the sovereignty of its closest neighbors with hybrid threats and daily violations from the skies above the Aegean islands, to the ground in the UN buffer zone in Cyprus and on the water, from the Libyan Sea to the Eastern Mediterranean, Foreign Minister, Ioannis Kasoulides has said.
In a keynote address at an event organized by the United Nations Association of Cyprus commemorating UN Day and Human Rights Day that took place on Thursday at the Presidential Palace, Kasoulides also said that “we have been witnessing recently unprecedented efforts by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to embark on a process to upgrade the status and seek for international recognition of the secessionist entity in the occupied Cyprus.”
The FM recalled that in one of its strongest resolutions, the UN Security Council deplored the declaration of the purported secession of the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus, considered the declaration as legally invalid and called for its withdrawal. At the same time this resolution calls all states not to recognize any other state on the island except the Republic of Cyprus, he added.
Kasoulides said that “Turkey has set as a pre-condition the recognition of sovereign equality to the resumption of negotiations and has moved away from the agreed UN framework,” adding that “this has happened against the backdrop of our efforts and bold initiatives to build confidence between the two communities in Cyprus.”
Referring to human rights, he noted that they ensure equality, freedom and peace, adding that regrettably, we continue to witness ever-growing pressures on human rights, even their total disregard. “Every single human being’s human and inalienable rights are sacrosanct, irrespective of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disability, culture or beliefs. They are neither a luxury, nor a commodity to be traded, used and then discarded. We all have equal rights, including the right to live in peace and dignity,” he added.
Kasoulides said that human rights deficiencies exist everywhere around the world; in some countries, less but in many, unfortunately, more, adding that a plethora of reasons account for this far from ideal reality as war, foreign occupation, pandemics, climate change, deep social inequalities.
He noted that “the result is always the same: suffering, injustice, struggle, marginalization, hardship, despair. We must push back against cynical notions that this is the fate of humankind. The pioneers behind the creation of the United Nations and the ideal of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights most definitely rejected such cynicism,” he added.
He went on to say that building a better “today” to ensure a brighter “tomorrow” is the only way to ensure that these pressures will be defeated. We are fortunate enough that the necessary tools are at our disposal and they are be found within the UN Charter. “What is absolutely imperative is an iron-clad commitment by all to the indispensable values of peace, justice, human rights, freedom and respect for international law. A commitment that must be put in action without exception and without resorting to double standards,” he stressed.
Furthermore, he noted that the United Nations is still the only institution that brings together all the countries of the world. “It remains central to our efforts to achieve peace and prosperity, through cooperation and solidarity. Conflict prevention, conflict resolution, respect for international law and human rights remain the hallmarks of the United Nations system,” the Cypriot FM stressed.
He also noted that “the UN’s entire raison d’être, as Secretary-General Guterres himself has noted, is that humanity is capable of great things when we work together. It is incumbent on all of us, as individuals, as communities and as states, that we heed that call.”
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