A/HRC/43/22 He observed that “the continued division of the island and the absence of regular contact between the sides outside of the negotiations generate tensions and hamper the sides’ ability to address issues that can have a negative impact on the safety and well-being of their communities” (S/2019/562, para. 61).4 12. In areas where bicommunal cooperation has been taking place, joint efforts have contributed to the promotion and protection of human rights. For instance, during the reporting period, the Joint Communications Room assisted in the exchange of information on crime investigations, missing persons, domestic violence and family and child custody disputes.5 UNFICYP also worked with the Joint Communications Room to raise awareness of and provide support on issues related to gender-based violence, in the light of multiple murder cases in the south where the victims were migrant women and children (S/2019/562, paras. 23). Additional areas of bicommunal cooperation are mentioned throughout the present report. III. Human rights concerns 13. The continued division of Cyprus affects human rights throughout the island, including the right to life and the question of missing persons; non-discrimination; freedom of movement and the right to seek asylum; property rights; freedom of religion or belief and cultural rights; freedom of opinion and expression; and the right to education. In addition, it is important that a gender perspective be adopted, particularly in relation to the peace process. A. Right to life and the question of missing persons 14. According to article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.6 Furthermore, article 1 of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance provides that any act of enforced disappearance is an offence to human dignity, placing the persons subjected thereto outside the protection of the law and inflicting severe suffering on them and their families. Any act of enforced disappearance also violates or constitutes a grave threat to the right to life. 15. The presence of landmines can have a negative effect on a number of rights, including the right to life. In its resolution 2453 (2019), the Security Council noted the continued danger posed by mines and noted with regret that the sides were withholding access to the remaining minefields in the buffer zone. The Security Council called on both sides to allow access to deminers and facilitate the removal of the remaining mines within the buffer zone, and urged both sides to agree to a plan of work to achieve a mine-free Cyprus. In its subsequent resolution 2483 (2019), the Security Council called on both sides to agree to and implement, a plan of work to achieve a mine-free Cyprus, including delivering on their agreement of 26 February 2019. 16. On 26 February 2019, as a confidence-building measure between the sides, the leaders agreed to an UNFICYP proposal for the cancellation of nine suspected hazardous areas on each side of the buffer zone. However, there has been no progress regarding the four minefields within the buffer zone, including the three active minefields managed by the Government. 17. The Secretary-General has noted that the continued division of Cyprus hampers the ability of the sides to address issues that can have a negative impact on the safety and well4 5 6 4 See also paras. 55 and 62. The Joint Communications Room was established in 2009 as the day-to-day working agency of the Technical Committee on Crime and Criminal Matters. It consists of two members from each community and provides a forum for the direct exchange of information and intelligence between the two police forces. See www.uncyprustalks.org/criminal-matters-activities/. See also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 6 (1).