A/HRC/26/14
79.
Pakistan, raising a point of order, considered that the intervention by the Turkish
delegation and its point of order did not contain any inaccuracy and that it was the
sovereign right of every State to express its views.
80.
The Russian Federation, raising a point of order, supported the President’s ruling
and stated that the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review was not a place for
political debate or historical retrospectives.
81.
Greece, raising a point of order, indicated that the Working Group on the Universal
Periodic Review had been convened to review the human rights situation in the Republic of
Cyprus and that it was counterproductive to use it to raise political issues. Greece requested
that the President ask Turkey to respect the rules of procedure of the UPR and the ruling of
the President.
82.
Egypt, raising a point of order, supported the President’s ruling and stated that all
the States Members of the United Nations should be addressed by their official names, in
line with the practices and methods of work of the Human Rights Council and the Working
Group on the Universal Periodic Review.
83.
Armenia, raising a point of order, supported the ruling of the President of the Human
Rights Council that a point of order should concern only procedural matters.
84.
Cyprus, raising a point of order, reconfirmed that points of order should be
concerned with procedural matters only and requested that all political or other erroneous
terminology not be included in the record or any other document of the meeting.
85.
The President of the Human Rights Council appealed to all delegations to refrain
from politicizing in any way or interfering in bilateral or territorial matters, which were
being addressed by other competent international bodies.
86.
Cyprus explained that Turkish Cypriots were entitled to the full enjoyment of human
rights by dint of being citizens of the Republic of Cyprus. The Government took special
measures to ensure that those rights, including the rights to employment, education and
religious freedom, were properly implemented. Thousands of Turkish Cypriots commuted
daily to the Government-controlled area where they worked. They were entitled to social
insurance benefits, provided that they made the necessary contributions in accordance with
the law. The Government took a series of important measures to support the daily life of
Turkish Cypriots. It also provided financial support for the maintenance and restoration of
mosques, cemeteries and other Muslims sites.
87.
The Government was committed to the reform of the juvenile justice system. The
Commissioner for Children’s Rights had prepared a bill regulating prevention and
intervention, which was fully compatible with United Nations principles and guidelines.
The bill would be submitted for consultation in the near future.
88.
Women played an important role in the peacebuilding process through their
participation in various working groups and bicommunal structures.
89.
The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance was in the process of ratification and the Optional Protocol to the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was in the process of
signature. The ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of
All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families was being addressed at European
Union level.
90.
In recent years, Cyprus had increased its efforts to combat trafficking in human
beings by abolishing the so-called “artist’s visa”, adopting anti-trafficking legislation,
establishing the National Coordinator and the Multidisciplinary Coordinating Group against
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