Everything being done to address increased migration flows falls within the framework of legality and international regulations, said the Minister of Interior, Constantinos Ioannou on Thursday.
He was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a meeting with the Interim Coordinating Council of the Provincial Self-Government Organisation of Limassol.
He added that the government, at this stage, does not wish to comment on issues related to the protection of the interests of the Republic of Cyprus.
Cypriot authorities on Wednesday pushed back five boats carrying around 500 migrants, philenews reported citing anonymous sources.
Ioannou has claimed that the boats, believed to have been carrying migrants from Syria, docked safely in Lebanon.
Sources told philenews that Cypriot authorities gave blankets and food to the migrants before forcing them to turn back.
Missing Migrants Project, an International Organisation for Migration initiative that has recorded migrant deaths and disappearances since 2014, has found that the Mediterranean crossing continues to be the deadliest route for migrants, with at least 3,129 deaths and disappearances recorded last year.
According to the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, pushbacks entail a variety of state measures aimed at forcing refugees and migrants out of their territory while obstructing access to applicable legal and procedural frameworks.
“In doing so, States circumvent safeguards governing international protection (including minors), detention or custody, expulsion, and the use of force,” it notes.
Stopping processing Syrian asylum applications
Nicosia last weekend announced it was suspending the processing of asylum applications amid a sharp increase in the number of Syrians arriving in Cyprus from Lebanon.
The government wants its European Union partners to reconsider the status of Syria, now out of bounds for returns.
MEP Fabienne Keller, the rapporteur for the border returns procedure proposal, characterised the reconsideration of Syria’s status as difficult, due to Syria’s unstable situation, given the country’s ongoing civil war.
The government’s new policy has been criticised by AKEL, which raised concerns over the accumulation of unprocessed applications, potential abuse of the system and surge in illegal and undeclared work.
Volt Cyprus has further questioned the legal basis of the policy, stating that it “exceeds the limits of international law”.
Cyprus Refugee Council coordinator Corina Drousiotou told in-cyprus on Monday that there is no legal basis for excluding a specific nationality from asylum applications. She explained that a similar measure was tried during the administration of Nicos Anastasiades, but failed to bring any results.
The U.N. human rights office stated earlier this year that based on evidence it has gathered, Syrian refugees who fled the ongoing Syrian civil war are facing gross human rights violations such as torture and abduction on their return to Syria, while women are subject to sexual harassment and violence.
(File photo)
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