A/HRC/22/18 welcomed the leaders’ joint statements, including those of 23 May and 1 July 2008. However, the Security Council also noted that the move towards a more intensive phase of negotiations has not yet resulted in an enduring, comprehensive and just settlement based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, as set out in the relevant Security Council resolutions, and it encouraged the sides to proceed with the substantive negotiations on the core issues, stressing that the status quo is unsustainable. 6. With a new Greek Cypriot leader expected to emerge as a result of presidential elections in the Republic of Cyprus in February 2013, the sides have been focusing on reinvigorating the work of the Technical Committees since April 2012. The Technical Committees continue to address issues that affect the daily lives of people on both sides, including crime and criminal matters, cultural heritage, health, economic and commercial matters, crisis management, humanitarian matters and the environment. 2 7. For the purpose of the report, in the absence of an OHCHR field presence in Cyprus, OHCHR has relied on a variety of sources with particular knowledge of the human rights situation on the island as well as on recent findings of international and regional human rights mechanisms. II. Human rights concerns 8. During the reporting period from 1 December 2011 to 30 November 2012, various United Nations treaty bodies and special procedures discussed human rights issues in Cyprus and addressed relevant recommendations to Cyprus, Turkey and the de facto authorities in the northern part of the island, respectively. 9. In its concluding observations on Cyprus (CRC/C/CYP/CO/3-4), adopted on 15 June 2012, the Committee on the Rights of the Child reiterated its previous observation “that the State party, as a consequence of events that occurred in 1974 and that resulted in the occupation of part of the territory of Cyprus, is not in a position to exercise control over all of its territory and consequently cannot ensure the application of the Convention in areas not under its control” (para. 6).3 However, the Committee on the Rights of the Child remains concerned that “no information on children living in the occupied territories could be provided” (ibid.).4 10. In its concluding observations on Turkey (CCPR/C/TUR/CO/1), adopted on 30 October 2012, the Human Rights Committee expressed concern that Turkey maintains its declarations5 and reservation made at the time of ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Optional Protocol. The Committee voiced particular concern “that one of these declarations appears in fact to be a reservation limiting the effect of the Covenant to the national territory of the State party, which could result in the complete non-applicability of the Covenant to persons subject to its jurisdiction in 2 3 4 5 Information received from the Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus. See also concluding observations on the second periodic report of Cyprus, CRC/C/15/Add.205, para. 5. Ibid. The declarations of Turkey include the following: “The Republic of Turkey declares that it will implement the provisions of this Covenant only to the States with which it has diplomatic relations. The Republic of Turkey declares that this Convention is ratified exclusively with regard to the national territory where the Constitution and the legal and administrative order of the Republic of Turkey are applied.” Available from http://treaties.un.org. See also the summary records of the Human Rights Committee’s meetings on 17 and 18 October 2012 (CCPR/C/SR.2927, paras. 17, 28, 33, 36 and 37; CCPR/C/SR.2928, paras. 5 and 36; CCPR/C/SR.2929, para. 40). 5