A/HRC/25/21 UNFICYP engagement with both sides, their positions on the location of any new crossing points remained irreconcilable. In addition, a request made by a Greek Cypriot woman to return to the Karpas region was pending; another request – for the reunification of a Greek Cypriot family, including three children, with their grandparents in Rizokarpaso – that was submitted on 31 August 2012 has to date received no positive response.29 26. In its ninth report on the implementation of the “Green Line” Regulation (EC) No. 866/2004, the European Commission noted a visible decrease in the number of both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots crossing the Green Line in 2012, with the number of crossings by non-Cypriot European Union citizens and third-country nationals also decreasing significantly when compared with previous years. While the vast majority of the crossings took place smoothly, in its report, the Commission also referred to a few incidents that had been a source of concern for the Turkish Cypriot community.30 27. On 30 August 2013, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed its concern that, in spite of the opening of several crossing points since 2003 and the resulting increase in contact between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities, the protracted conflict in Cyprus and the continued division of the island maintain tension between the two communities.31 During the consideration of the State party’s seventeenth to twenty-second periodic reports, the Committee’s Country Rapporteur noted that demographics in Cyprus had been largely shaped by population movements since the partial occupation of the island by Turkey in 1974 and the State party’s accession to the European Union in 2004.32 28. In a press release of 22 October 2013, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief hailed a key breakthrough in interfaith communication and an agreement that allowed Greek Orthodox and Muslim religious leaders to cross the Green Line. On 16 October 2013, Bishop Christoforos of Karpasia, who had been prevented during the previous 18 months from visiting the northern part of Cyprus and his diocese, was allowed to visit and worship at the monastery Apostolos Andreas on the Karpas peninsula in the north-east of Cyprus. On 18 October 2013, the Grand Mufti of Cyprus crossed the Green Line and held a service at Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque near Larnaca for the first time. This was made possible by an agreement reached with the Greek Orthodox Archbishop Chrysostomos II, who personally facilitated the Grand Mufti’s access to the areas controlled by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus.33 On 30 November 2013, Bishop Christoforos of Karpasia also officiated at a church service with reportedly more than 5,000 worshipers on the name day of the monastery Apostolos Andreas. D. Property rights 29. According to article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others, and no one is to be arbitrarily deprived of his property. 29 30 See S/2013/392, paras. 22 and 28. Report from the Commission to the Council, COM(2013) 299 final (available from http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/turkish_cypriot_community/20130524_green_line_report_en.pdf), pp. 31 32 33 2 and 3. CERD/C/CYP/CO/17-22, para. 7. CERD/C/SR.2254, para. 13. See also the alternative report submitted by KISA to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 9 August 2013 (see footnote 26), pp. 13 and 14. See www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13880&LangID=E and A/HRC/22/51/Add.1, paras. 46, 51, 55-56, 77 and 85. 9