The US State Department refers to cases of refoulement of asylum seekers and serious acts of government “corruption” in its 2021 Human Rights report on Cyprus. At the same time, it also notes that in the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus, there were credible reports that members of the security forces committed some abuses.
According to the report, significant human rights issues included credible reports of substantial interference with the freedom of association of nongovernmental organizations; refoulement of asylum seekers; mistreatment of asylum seekers, including extended arbitrary detention and harsh detention conditions; serious acts of government corruption; and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting members of national and ethnic minority groups.
It said the government took steps to identify, investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed human rights abuses and acts of corruption.
Regarding torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the report notes that the constitution and law prohibit such practices. However, there were reports that police at times engaged in abusive tactics and degrading treatment, sometimes to enforce measures adopted by the government to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. According to press reports and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), it said “members of ethnic and racial minorities were more likely to be subjected to such treatment.”
At the same time, the State Department report notes the office of the ombudsman did not receive any complaints of mistreatment and discriminatory and degrading behavior, including complaints of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, from inmates in detention centers and the Cyprus Prisons Department (CPD), the country’s only prison. The ombudsman noted continued improvement overall in the treatment of prisoners and detainees in the CPD and in detention centers.
As in previous years, some prison and detention centers, including detention centers for asylum seekers and undocumented migrants pending deportation, were overcrowded. At the CPD, the prison’s capacity is 543 yet the maximum number of inmates held during the year was 793.
The NGOs Cyprus Refugee Council and CARITAS reported satisfactory physical conditions at the Mennoyia Immigration Detention Center for undocumented migrants. Unlike in previous years, the NGO Action for Equality, Support, Antiracism (KISA) was unable to visit the Mennoyia center because the Ministry of Interior deregistered KISA in December 2020, it is added.
Regarding the reception centre Pournara, the report says that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) described it as a “de facto detention center” for asylum seekers. Pournara was designed to accommodate new arrivals for 72 hours while they undergo medical, security, and vulnerability screenings before relocation to more permanent housing. A steady daily inflow of 20-30 new asylum seekers in January coupled with the minister of interior’s de facto non-exit policy “allegedly instituted to mitigate COVID-19 spread, but which UNHCR claimed was not legal” had caused the camp’s population to triple since mid-November 2020, said the Human Rights Report.
Citing UNHCR it said 1,503 migrants housed the center as of January 13, greatly exceeding the center’s maximum capacity of approximately 1,000. Approximately 630 migrants were housed in the main camp and the remainder in quarantine areas that had tents without floors.
Referring to refoulement, the Report said media outlets, NGOs, and UNHCR reported that “authorities continued pushing back boats carrying irregular migrants, including potential asylum seekers.” “From January to August authorities pushed back to Lebanon a total of five boats carrying Syrians. On May 16, authorities pushed back to Lebanon a boat carrying 56 individuals. On June 25, they pushed back a boat with 58 persons, and on July 25, pushed back a boat with 85 persons while Maritime Police intercepted two boats carrying irregular migrants on August 22. UNHCR and NGO contacts reported both vessels departed from Lebanon and all individuals on board were Syrian nationals” it is added.
On the issue of Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government, it said the law stipulates criminal penalties for corruption by officials, and the government generally implemented the law effectively. There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year. At this point, it referred to the resignation of former President of the House of Representatives Demetris Syllouris and member of the House, Christakis Giovani, after in October 2020 al-Jazeera broadcast an expose, ‘The Cyprus Papers – Undercover’, in which undercover reporters captured extensive evidence of government corruption related to the Citizenship by Investment program (CBI).
On the issue of Discrimination and Societal Abuses, in the section for women, it said the law criminalizes domestic violence, with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Although the government generally enforced the law effectively, although many cases continued to go unreported.
There were also reports of employment discrimination against LGBTQI+ applicants, it is added.
As in previous years, ACCEPT representatives reported that transgender persons undergoing hormone replacement therapy experienced discrimination accessing health care following the introduction of a new national universal health insurance system in 2019, the report says. The NGO also reported that transgender persons faced increased difficulties accessing hormone treatment due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
In another section, the Report said that despite a strong legal framework, the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance ineffectively enforced the law governing employment and labour matters with respect to women.
Although the law protects foreign domestic workers who file a complaint with the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance from deportation until their cases have been adjudicated, the Department of Labour Relations reported that from January 1 to June 30, it received 198 complaints from migrant workers against their employers. Of those, 166 complaints were examined by October, it is added.
The Ministry of Labour employed an insufficient number of inspectors to effectively enforce labour laws in the agricultural sector and in the informal economy, in which the majority of employees were migrant workers and undocumented workers.
The report underlines that the government of the Republic of Cyprus is the only internationally recognized government on the island, but since 1974 the northern third of Cyprus has been administered by Turkish Cypriots. The State Department report notes that it does not recognise the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” “nor does any country other than Turkey.A substantial number of Turkish troops remain on the island” while a buffer zone, or “Green Line,” patrolled by a UN Peacekeeping Force, separates the two sides.
It refers to the “elections” and the rise to power of Ersin Tatar, the new Turkish Cypriot leader, widely seen as influenced by pro-Tatar interference from Turkey.
Police and Turkish Cypriot security forces, it said, “are ultimately under the operational command of the Turkish armed forces, as provided by the “constitution,” which entrusts responsibility for public security and defense to Turkey”.
Authorities maintained effective control over the security forces. There were credible reports that members of the security forces committed some abuses.
It notes that as in previous years, “there were reports of detention and deportation to Turkey of persons with alleged ties to Fethullah Gulen and his movement”.
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.
Source: Cyprus News Agency