Turkey’s policies in Cyprus harm Turkish Cypriots as much as Greek Cypriots, undermining their identity, restricting their freedoms and denying them full enjoyment of their rights as Cypriot and European citizens, Cyprus has told the United Nations.
The position is set out in a verbal note dated April 20, 2026, in which Cyprus’s Permanent Mission to the OHCHR rejected as “unfounded” the positions Turkey advanced at the General Debate under Item 2 of the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council. Cyprus requested that its response be circulated as an official document of the session.
The note accused Turkey of keeping Turkish Cypriots isolated and effectively holding them hostage to Ankara’s pursuit of international recognition of the illegal “secessionist entity” established in the occupied north — an entity the UN Security Council has condemned.
Cyprus warned that the credibility of international law and the UN system would be “seriously undermined” if “aggressor states such as Turkey” were allowed to invoke the passage of time to avoid accountability and downgrade the urgency of addressing ongoing violations.
Rejection of Turkey’s legal claims
Cyprus categorically rejected Turkey’s characterisation of its 1974 intervention, describing Ankara’s claim to a unilateral right to invade and occupy Cyprus as “unfounded” and contrary to “both logic and the fundamental principles of the UN Charter.” The 1974 invasion was characterised in the note as “an act of aggression and a clear violation of international law, the UN Charter and the Treaty of Guarantee.”
The note recalled that the invasion, the occupation and Turkey’s secessionist actions have been repeatedly condemned by the United Nations, including through General Assembly resolution 37/253 and Security Council resolutions 541 and 550.
Cyprus also rejected Turkey’s persistent promotion of the illegal “secessionist entity,” describing it as an attempt to distract from Ankara’s responsibility for ongoing human rights violations in Cyprus.
Impact on all Cypriots
The verbal note said the illegal military occupation of the northern part of Cyprus has affected all Cypriots. Beyond the displacement of almost one third of the Greek Cypriot population, it cited the continuing oppression of the enclaved population and a systematic policy of demographic and cultural alteration — including the transfer of settlers and the destruction of cultural and religious heritage.
The note also referenced the continuing transfer of military equipment and the establishment of military infrastructure in the occupied areas, carried out under the direction and control of the Turkish military command in Turkey.
Referring to the OHCHR’s annual report on Cyprus, the note said it highlights key aspects of the ongoing violations stemming from the 1974 invasion and the continuing military occupation of the northern part of the island.
Cyprus said it was essential that the situation in Cyprus not “fade from view,” stressing that the ongoing violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law are the “direct result of the continuing military occupation by Turkey of one third of the territory of a sovereign UN member state, the Republic of Cyprus.” It called on the international community to ensure that all Cypriots enjoy the same level of protection as those in other situations of foreign military attack and occupation.
Cyprus’s demands
Cyprus called on Turkey to withdraw its occupation troops from Cyprus, abandon its two-state policy and allow the reunification of the island and its people. It also called on Ankara to comply fully with its obligations under international law and end the ongoing violations of the rights of all Cypriots.
The note reaffirmed Cyprus’s firm commitment to a strong and credible multilateral human rights architecture with the United Nations and its mechanisms at its core, and its full support for the role of the OHCHR in promoting human rights, accountability and the rule of law globally.
(information from CNA)
