A/HRC/16/21 life of Cypriot society44. The Committee also mentioned the efforts of the Government to promote dialogue and co-operation between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot community45. Nevertheless, the Committee noted, Turkish Cypriots are reportedly still at times facing hostile attitudes and difficulties, for instance in accessing social services and in education. The very limited use of Turkish, in spite of its status as an official language, complicates access to various public services for Turkish Cypriots, notwithstanding the measures taken by the authorities to provide information46. 29. The CoE AC recommended that the Government continue and strengthen its efforts to provide the necessary conditions for Turkish Cypriots to be able to exercise their rights effectively and have full and equal access to public services47. Special attention should be paid to the linguistic problems encountered by Turkish Cypriots in access to services and enjoyment of rights, as well as to the implementation of constitutional provisions on the use of official languages in Cyprus48. 30. The “direct trade regulation” 49 proposed by the European Commission is still pending adoption 50 . While the European Union (EU) aid programme for the Turkish Cypriot community, which seeks to encourage economic development in the northern part of the island, has continued, its implementation faces challenges, inter alia, in relation to cooperation between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities51. 31. UNFICYP continued to assist Turkish Cypriots living in the south with access to welfare services, including basic services such as medical care, housing and education52. UNFICYP also continued to monitor the welfare of Turkish Cypriot prisoners and detainees in the south and Greek Cypriot prisoners in the north. No cases of discrimination were observed in the period from May to November 201053. 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 CoE AC: Third opinion on Cyprus adopted on 19 March 2010; ACFC/OP/III(2010)002, para. 99. Ibid., para. 22. Ibid., para. 103. Ibid., para. 105. Ibid., para. 106. Proposal for a Council Regulation on special conditions for trade with those areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control (COM(2004)0466 final – ACC(2004)0148). On 18 October 2010 the Legal Committee of the European Parliament shared the opinion of the Parliament’s legal service that EU trade with the northern part of Cyprus should be governed directly by the EU single market and customs union rules, and not by the EU’s rules for international trade. The proposed direct trade regulation would therefore need to be adopted by unanimity in the Council of Ministers and not under the ordinary legislative procedure and the qualified majority voting in the Council, which is used for international trade issues following the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty. The Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament still has to give its opinion on the Legal Committee’s decision. Source: “MEPs reject legal treatment of the northern part of Cyprus as a third country”, 19 October 2010, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/; Committee on Legal Affairs Opinion on the Proposal for a Council regulation on special conditions for trade with those areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control (JURI_AL(2010)450882), 20 October 2010. Information received from the Task Force for the Turkish Cypriot Community, Directorate-General for Enlargement, European Commission. S/2010/605, para. 15. There were 12 Turkish Cypriot prisoners in the south on charges varying from theft to drug trafficking and no Greek Cypriots in the north. UNFICYP visited them in detention, attended their court appearances and liaised with their legal representatives and prison authorities, as needed. Source: Information received from UNFICYP. 9