Press Releases

The Republic of Cyprus was represented on Thursday, 5^th of July, 2018, by the Permanent Representative, Ambassador Kornelios Korneliou, at the 15^th Annual International Human Rights Summit. The Summit which takes place at the UN Headquarters, from 5-7 July, is an open event, organized by Youth for Human Rights International in collaboration with leading NGOs and Permanent Missions of Australia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Canada and Romania to the United Nations. 2018 Summit is held to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), its historic impact on the world and what we need to do now to get it further implemented across all nations.

In his intervention, Mr Korneliou reiterated that, 70 years later, this same belief continues to be equally timely and especially, urgent. Recent trends around the world show that the overall commitment to human rights is not as firm as it once was. The world is now facing the risk of going back to a situation where freedom of expression is restricted, discriminations are tolerated and the rule of law is selectively applied.

He stated that these ecumenical values are the main pillar of Peace and Democracy and it is of utmost importance that governments and societies recognize the gaps in the protection and fulfillment of human rights.

The Permanent Representative presented Cyprus’ best practices, which were implemented at national level and developed in alignment with the commitments resulting from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention of Human Rights.

“In the case of Cyprus, education in public schools is focused on tolerance, in other words the acceptance of difference and the respect for other cultures. Free and accessible education is offered to all without prejudice to gender, color, religion, political beliefs or ethnic background” he said.

He said that, the educational system is undergoing a major reform, for the purpose of securing a more democratic and human-centered school environment. Schools are equipped with the necessary tools to be able to take action in cases of discrimination in order to give every child the opportunity to achieve their individual educational objectives to the maximum.

“Since 2011, trainings on the issues of diversity and discrimination are offered to students and teachers in public and private schools of Elementary and Secondary education. The training, conducted by the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, is offered in the form of “experiential learning” adjusted to the age of the students” he said.

In conclusion, Mr Korneliou noted the great progress made by Cyprus in the implementation of human rights, but underlined that the main objective is to cultivate a culture of respect for human rights at all levels of public and political life.

(AH)