The Deputy Minister of Migration, Nicholas Ioannides, has announced that measures at the buffer zone will be enhanced to prevent the arrival of migrants.
He noted that his deputy ministry is working with the Ministries of Defence and Justice towards this end.
Speaking on the “Enimerosi Tora” programme on Omega TV, Ioannides refuted allegations against the Republic of Cyprus regarding the mistreatment of asylum seekers, as documented in a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), which has given Cyprus a negative rating for its handling of asylum seekers.
The report mentioned that 15 Syrian migrants who attempted to leave Lebanon via smuggling boats had their human rights violated by the Lebanese and/or Cypriot authorities.
Ioannides stated that these were mere allegations and defended the Republic’s actions, which he affirmed were entirely lawful.
“The Republic of Cyprus upholds the rights of asylum seekers, and as evidence of this, it has received commendations from the EU for its management of these individuals,” the Deputy Minister asserted.
Ioannides noted that migrant arrivals have already significantly decreased, and these are now recorded through the buffer zone. He added that sea arrivals have ceased.
The HRW report has accused Cyprus and Lebanon of forcing refugees to return to Syria.
“Cyprus […] violates [the] prohibition by pushing refugees back to Lebanon where they risk being sent to danger in Syria,” said Nadia Hardman, HRW’s migration expert.
Nicosia has been lobbying the European Union to declare parts of Syria as safe for repatriation.
The U.N. human rights office stated earlier this year that based on evidence it has gathered, Syrian refugees who fled the ongoing Syrian civil war are facing gross human rights violations such as torture and abduction on their return to Syria, while women are subject to sexual harassment and violence.
Cyprus has taken measures to manage what its government has called a migration crisis, as the country records among the highest rates of registered first-time applicants for asylum in Europe.
Among the policies the Republic of Cyprus has implemented is temporarily suspending asylum applications from Syrian nationals.
International organisations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) have accused local authorities of breaking international law by pushing asylum seekers back to the buffer zone, after they enter the Pournara reception centre to apply for asylum.
This has reportedly led to over 70 people being stranded in the UN-patrolled demilitarised zone during heatwaves.
The Cypriot government has repeatedly stressed that it does not want the buffer zone to turn into an “immigrant corridor” and has sought to shift the blame to Turkey and UNFICYP which it accused of facilitating the entry of people into government-controlled areas.
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