Turkey challenges the sovereignty of its nearest neighbours with hybrid threats and daily violations from the skies over the Aegean islands in the territory of the UN-controlled buffer zone in Cyprus and the sea, from the Libyan Sea to the Eastern Mediterranean, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said in his address on Thursday evening at an event on United Nations Day and Human Rights Day, organized by the United Nations Association of Cyprus and held at the Presidential Palace.
Kasoulides noted, among other things, that recently we have seen unprecedented efforts by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to start a process to upgrade the status and seek international recognition of the breakaway entity in occupied Cyprus.
He recalled that in one of its strongest resolutions the UN Security Council condemned the declaration of the alleged secession of the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus, considered this declaration as legally invalid and called for its withdrawal. At the same time, this resolution calls on all states not to recognize any state on the island other than the Republic of Cyprus, he noted.
He said Turkey has made the recognition of sovereign equality a precondition for the resumption of negotiations and has departed from the agreed UN framework.
"This has happened amid our own efforts and bold initiatives to build trust between the two communities in Cyprus," he said.
Referring to the issue of human rights, he said these ensure equality, freedom and peace and that unfortunately we continue to experience increasing pressures on human rights and even their complete disregard. He said that the human and inalienable rights of every human being are neither a luxury nor a product to be traded, used and discarded. "We all have equal rights, including the right to live in peace and dignity," he said.
He pointed out that human rights deficits exist all over the world, in some countries less but in many unfortunately more. He said there are a multitude of reasons for this such as war, foreign occupation, pandemics, climate change, deep social inequalities and rejected cynical notions that this is the fate of the human race, noting that the pioneers behind the creation of the UN and the ideal of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights certainly rejected them as well.
Building a better "today" to ensure a brighter "tomorrow" is the only way to ensure that these pressures are defeated. We are fortunate enough to have the necessary tools at our disposal and these are in the UN Charter, he said.
He stressed the need for everyone to commit to the indispensable values of peace, justice, human rights, freedom and respect for international law. "A commitment that must be implemented without exception and without double standards," he stressed.
He also said that the UN is still the only institution that brings together all the countries of the world and that "it remains central to our efforts to achieve peace and prosperity through cooperation and solidarity. Conflict prevention, conflict resolution, respect for international law and human rights remain the main features of the UN system."
Kasoulides noted that the whole reason for the existence of the UN, as Secretary General Guterres himself has said, is that humanity is capable of great things when we work together. "It is up to all of us, as individuals, as communities and as states, to heed this call," he said."
Source: CNA
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