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Today, on World Refugee Day, we honour the strength and courage of millions of people forced to flee their homeland to escape conflict or persecution. The day was first established on 20 June 2001, marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
The theme of World Refugee Day 2023 is "Hope away from Home. A world where refugees are always included" seeks to mobilize political will to protect the rights of refugees.
In the aftermath of the unspeakable tragedy off the coast of Pylos, the message and value of World Refugee Day becomes even more important, as this tragedy captures the daily drama of thousands of our fellow human beings fleeing their homes in search of safety.
In the broader effort to protect the rights of refugees, the Office of the Commissioner for Legislation carries out a number of actions.
The main action of our Office in recent times is the recast of the Refugee Law, a very serious and necessary project for the Republic of Cyprus to improve the procedures for the better treatment and management of asylum applications, which have increased by 490% since 2015.
The new legislation aims to adopt a clear legal framework, upgrading the administrative, judicial and more generally practical procedures concerning beneficiaries of international protection. Our approach to this project is to effectively safeguard the rights of beneficiaries of international protection, as they derive from EU and international law, while ensuring the public interest of the Republic. It should be noted that this action is part of the wider framework of the Government's actions for the management of the migration issue.
In addition, the Office of the Commissioner for Legislation is responsible for the preparation of National Reports, which the Republic is obliged to submit in accordance with the ratified Human Rights Conventions of the United Nations and the Council of Europe. A corollary responsibility of the Office is the presentation and support of these reports/positions of the Republic during the hearings before the competent United Nations treaty bodies.
In this regard, it is stated that the Office of the Commissioner for Legislation will represent the Republic at the forthcoming hearing to be held in Geneva before a competent United Nations Committee, at which the 5th Periodic Report on the Application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) will be considered, which will deal to a considerable extent with issues relating to the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.
Finally, remaining committed to the responsibilities of the Office of the Legislative Commissioner, we are working towards the successful completion of the aforementioned human rights actions, looking forward to taking further actions to review the law.
(MB/SX)
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