A/HRC/25/21 Nations buffer zone in Nicosia, organized on 12 September 2013 by the Office of the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process, under the auspices of the Embassy of Sweden and in cooperation with OHCHR. As all cooperation between the religious leaders had stopped when the bicommunal conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots escalated 50 years earlier, the Special Rapporteur hailed these positive developments and the improved climate of interreligious communication in Cyprus as a breakthrough for religious freedom on the whole island.45 It also implements one of the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur in his report to the Human Rights Council, in which he called for the promotion of interreligious communication at both the level of religious leaders and the grass-roots level.46 Such cooperation on the whole island indeed creates solid ground on which to address the underlying human rights issues, which could also have a positive impact on the reconciliation process as a whole. 39. The bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage made important progress in the implementation of emergency measures for the protection of cultural heritage sites on both sides of the island. In February 2013, a multi-donor partnership was established for the restoration of the Apostolos Andreas monastery under the auspices of UNDP, and two contribution agreements worth €2.5 million each were signed on 17 September 2013 with the Church of Cyprus and the Evkaf Administration.47 In addition, emergency works were carried out on, inter alia, the Mosque in Deneia/Denya despite some damage to the restoration works shortly after their commencement in January 2013, and further emergency measures were taken to preserve and safeguard the Hamam (Medieval Turkish Bath) in Paphos.48 40. In the context of the implementation of the aid programme for the Turkish Cypriot community, the European Commission continued its work aimed at protecting cultural heritage of the entire island, with a €2 million contribution agreement signed in April 2013 with UNDP for emergency stabilization on sites chosen by the bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, including the Othello Tower in Famagusta.49 F. Freedom of opinion and expression 41. According to article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. 42. With regard to the safety of journalists, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) indicated in its written contribution to the universal periodic review of Cyprus during the second cycle50 that it had recorded no killings of journalists in Cyprus from 2008 to 2012. 45 46 47 48 49 50 12 See www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13880&LangID=E. A/HRC/22/51/Add.1, para. 90. S/2013/392, para. 3. See also press release UNDP-PFF 222/13, 17 September 2013. See press releases UNDP-PFF 218/13, 30 April 2013 and 223/13, 9 October 2013. See the European Commission’s Seventh Annual Report 2012 on the implementation of Community assistance under Council regulation (EC) No. 389/2006 of 27 February 2006 establishing an instrument of financial support for encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community, COM(2013) 332 final (http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/turkish_cypriot_community/20130604_seventh_annual_report_i mpl_community_assistance_en.pdf), p. 7. Available from www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRCYUNContributionsS18.aspx.