[Cyprus Times] Cyprus' hearing at the UN in Geneva adjourned due to suspicious object near the building

"Everyone is fine" says Legislation Commissioner

Cyprus' hearing at the UN Committee for the monitoring of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was interrupted due to a notice of evacuation of the UN's Palais Wilson headquarters, in Geneva, following the detection of a suspicious object near it, the Commissioner for Legislation told Cypriots, stressing that all members of the delegation are well and the process will continue and will be completed.

Louisa Christodoulides Zannetou explained that at the time of the Cypriot delegation's answers to the questions of the UN Commission members, the President was informed that the room had to be evacuated, as well as the entire building, because there was a report of a suspicious object near the building. Zanettou, they came out of the building and after the Swiss police arrived with a special robotic machine they were instructed to leave the building and eventually told that it would reopen later.

The incident occurred, she said, after the break of the morning session which began at 10.00am on Tuesday (local time) and would last until 1.00pm. "We reacted immediately, followed protocols and came out of the building. Many people from many countries," she said."

The discussion was in its final stages, Zannetou said, and she was given the assurance that they would come back later in the day for the Cypriot delegation to make its concluding remarks and, if necessary, some documentation. "I hope that we have satisfactorily presented our positions in relation to the Republic's compliance (with the Convention on the Rights of the Child), we are already receiving positive feedback and this event - which fortunately did not affect anyone negatively - will be remembered for some time to come."

This is the second day of the evaluation of Cyprus, the Law Commissioner noted, saying that they have heard many helpful comments and issues that are now of concern to the Parliament, such as child friendly justice, asylum, Pournara, unaccompanied children, special mention was made of bullying issues, parental alienation issues, etc. She will, she said, post the report on her office's website.

Noting that the last time Cyprus went through this process was in 2012, Zannetou said that it is very important that the comments of the UN Committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child are taken into account by ministries and relevant departments that will have obligations after this report. She expressed the hope that she would be able to present the report and the comments before the Parliament which, she said, is currently debating legislation concerning children.

The delegation includes representatives from the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Interior, the Police and the Ministry of Social Welfare, headed by herself, the Commissioner for Legislation said. They are accompanied by Olympia Neocleous, Ambassador of Cyprus to the Permanent Mission to the UN offices in Geneva.

Source: CNA

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