A/HRC/10/37 page 2 Annex REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ON THE QUESTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN CYPRUS I. OVERVIEW 1. As of December 2008, Cyprus remains divided, with a buffer zone maintained by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). The UNFICYP mandate, which dates back to 1964, has been extended by successive Security Council resolutions. In resolution 1847 (2008), the Security Council decided to extend the mandate for a further period ending 15 June 2009. II. HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS 2. The persisting division of Cyprus has consequences in relation to a number of human rights issues on the whole island, including freedom of movement, property rights, human rights pertaining to the question of missing persons, discrimination, freedom of religion, the right to education, human trafficking, and economic rights. 3. With regard to freedom of movement, UNFICYP has recorded approximately 16.5 million crossings since the opening of the four crossing points in 2003.1 The highly symbolic opening of the Ledra Street crossing point on 3 April 2008 has translated into an important confidence-building factor which has had a significant positive impact on contacts between the two communities, as illustrated by the increased number of crossings since its opening.2 In the context of the new process aimed at a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem, although no agreement has yet been reached on the opening of additional crossing points, the leaders of the two communities, Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, requested their respective representatives to consider opening Limnitis/Yeşilirmak and other crossing points during a meeting on 25 July 2008.3 4. Restrictions on freedom of movement persist, in particular with regard to a number of villages located in the military zones in the northern part of the island. Since the last reporting period, there has been no positive change in relation to increased access to the Maronite villages 1 This refers to the Ledra, Pergamos, Strovilia and Ayios Dometios/Metehan crossing points that were opened in April and May 2003, as noted in the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations operation in Cyprus (S/2003/572), para. 9. The figure does not include crossings in Pergamos since 1 September 2006, when the Turkish Cypriot side discontinued sharing statistics on the movement of people at that crossing. 2 S/2008/353, paras. 15 and 24. 3 S/2008/744, paras. 7 and 8.