[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 28 Reported in Senate (RS)]
Calendar No. 84
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. CON. RES. 28
Calling for a United States effort to end restrictions on the freedoms
and human rights of the enclaved people in the occupied area of Cyprus.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 26, 2001
Ms. Snowe (for herself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr.
Torricelli, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Specter, Mr. Reed, Mr.
Levin, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Biden, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. Dodd) submitted the
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations
July 12, 2001
Reported by Mr. Biden, without amendment and an amendment to the
preamble
[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Calling for a United States effort to end restrictions on the freedoms
and human rights of the enclaved people in the occupied area of Cyprus.
Whereas respect for fundamental freedoms and internationally recognized human
rights is a cornerstone of United States foreign policy;
Whereas, since the tragic events of 1974, the number of the enclaved people in
the occupied area of Cyprus has been reduced from 20,000 to 593 (428
Greek-Cypriots and 165 Maronites);
Whereas the enclaved people continue to be subjected to restrictions on their
freedoms and human rights;
Whereas the representatives of the two communities in Cyprus, who met in Vienna,
Austria, in August 1975 under the auspices of the Secretary General of
the United Nations, reached a humanitarian agreement, known as the
Vienna III Agreement, which, inter alia, states that, ``Greek-Cypriots
in the north of the island [of Cyprus] are free to stay and they will be
given every help to lead a normal life, including facilities for
education and for the practice of their religion, as well as medical
care by their own doctors and freedom of movement in the north . . .
[and] the United Nations will have free and normal access to Greek-
Cypriot villages and habitations in the north'';
Whereas the Secretary General of the United Nations, in his December 10, 1995,
report on the United Nations operation in Cyprus, set out the
recommendations contained in the humanitarian review of the United
Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyrus (in this concurrent resolution
referred to as ``UNFICYP''), as endorsed by United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1032(95), regarding the restrictions on the freedoms
and human rights of the enclaved people of Cyprus;
Whereas the Secretary General of the United Nations, in his June 7, 1996 report
on the United Nations Operation in Cyprus, informed the Security Council
that the Greek Cypriots and Maronites living in the northern part of the
island ``were subjected to severe restrictions and limitations in many
basic freedoms, which had the effect of ensuring that inexorably, with
the passage of time, the communities would cease to exist'';
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1062(96), inter alia,
expressed regret that ``the Turkish-Cypriot side has not responded more
fully to the recommendations made by UNFICYP and calls upon the Turkish-
Cypriot side to respect more fully the basic freedoms of the Greek-
Cypriots and Maronites living in the northern part of the island and to
intensify its efforts to improve their daily lives'';
Whereas, on July 31, 1997, Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish-Cypriot
leader Rauf Denktash agreed to further address this issue along with
other humanitarian issues;
Whereas those agreements and recommendations are still far from being
implemented, despite a number of measures announced in May 2000 by the
Turkish side to ease certain restrictions imposed on movement between
the two sides, which restrictions largely remain in effect;
Whereas the measures against the UNFICYP instituted by the Turkish side since
June 2000 have further complicated the situation;
Whereas, on January 22, 1990, Turkey recognized the compulsory jurisdiction of
the European Court of Human Rights; <DELETED>and
Whereas the European Commission of Human Rights, in the case of Cyprus vs.
Turkey before the European Court of Human Rights in 1999 found that
``taken as a whole, the daily life of the Greek Cypriots in northern
Cyprus is characterized by a multitude of adverse circumstances. The
absence of normal means of communication, the unavailability in practice
of the Greek Cypriot press, the insufficient number of priests, the
difficult choice before which parents and school children are put
regarding secondary education, the restrictions and formalities applied
to freedom of movement, the impossibility to preserve property rights
upon departure or death and the various other restrictions create a
feeling among the persons concerned of being compelled to live in a
hostile environment in which it is hardly possible to lead a normal
private and family life'' and ``are to a large extent the direct result
of the official policy conducted by the respondent government [Turkey]
and its subordinate local administration'':
</DELETED>Whereas on May 10, 2001, the European Court of Human Rights, in its
judgment in the case of Cyprus v. Turkey, held Turkey, by a vote of 16
to 1, responsible under the European Convention of Human Rights for
continuing human rights violations committed throughout its 27-year
military occupation of the northern third of Cyprus against, inter alia,
the enclaved people in the occupied area of Cyprus, and cited Turkey (1)
on controlling and restricting their movements, thus limiting access to
their places of worship and participation in other aspects of religious
life; (2) on exercising excessive measures of censorship on school books
destined for use by the Karpas Greek Cypriots; (3) on not securing the
peaceful enjoyment of their possessions and not recognizing the
inheritance rights of their relatives; (4) on not making available
appropriate secondary education school facilities; (5) on preventing any
prospect of renewing or developing their community and subjecting them
to inhuman living conditions and violating the very notion of human
dignity; (6) on not respecting their private or family life or their
homes; (7) on denying effective remedies in respect of their complaints;
and (8) on subjecting them to severe discrimination amounting to
degrading treatment; and
Whereas the European Court of Human Rights also ruled that Turkey's
responsibility cannot be confined under the European Convention of Human
Rights to the acts of its own soldiers and officials operating in
northern Cyprus but also covers the acts of its subordinate local
administration, which survived by virtue of the Turkish military and
other support: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
That Congress--
(1) strongly urges the President to undertake efforts to
end restrictions on the freedoms and human rights of the
enclaved people of Cyprus; and
(2) expresses its intention to remain actively interested
in the matter until the human rights and fundamental freedoms
of the enclaved people of Cyprus are restored, respected, and
safeguarded.
Calendar No. 84
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. CON. RES. 28
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Calling for a United States effort to end restrictions on the freedoms
and human rights of the enclaved people in the occupied area of Cyprus.
_______________________________________________________________________
July 12, 2001
Reported without amendment and an amendment to the preamble