A National Strategy for the protection and safeguarding of the LGBTI community members will be drafted Minister of Justice and Public Order, Anna Koukkides-Prokopiou announced on Friday, adding that a National Strategy for the Prevention and Combating of Anti-Semitism will also be prepared.
According to the Cyprus News Agency, the Minister was speaking at a conference on human rights, the promotion of equality and combating discrimination organised for the fifth year by the Cyprus Police to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948.
In her address, Prokopiou pointed out that the acknowledgement that every human being, without discrimination, has rights which are non-negotiable and inalienable is one of the greatest achievements of human society.
The Minister said that the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, to comply with its multiple and multidimensional obligations under the Constitution, the European Union law and the international law, has in recent years proceeded with significant changes and innovations to safeguard, promote and raise awareness of human rights issues.
She added that the Ministry of Justice would proceed with the development of a National Strategy for the protection and safeguarding of members of the LGBTI community.
She further noted that the preparation of the first National Strategy for Preventing and Combating Anti-Semitism is underway, explaining that the National Strategy, which is based on an existing strong legal framework to combat racism and anti-Semitism, promotes the principles of the rule of law and democratic values and the creation of relations of mutual understanding, acceptance and respect.
In addition, she said that to safeguard children’s rights, based on the standards set by international and European organisations, the implementation of the provisions of the legislation is underway to establish a new modern child-friendly justice system.
The Minister of Justice stressed that the collective struggle for the respect and protection of human rights must be pursued through policies and legislation that ensure dignity, justice and the participation of all citizens in society on an equal basis.
On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, Prokopiou assured all citizens that she would work to protect and promote their rights in a society of equality, inclusion, respect for all forms of diversity and non-negotiable respect for human rights.
At the same time, the Deputy Attorney General, Savvas Angelides, stated in his address that Cyprus has ratified almost all the important international conventions for the protection of human rights, pointing out that the Cypriot Constitution guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms in almost identical terms to those of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and some articles of the Constitution even provide wider protection than the ECHR.
Angelides stressed the importance “as a state to comply with the decisions, to learn from them, and also to cultivate a culture of respect for rights”, saying that the culture is cultivated through continuous training, procedures, and practical application of the provisions of all the conventions that are ratified.
Also, he continued, discrimination that exists based on protected characteristics such as gender, disability, origin, age, sexual orientation and beliefs should be combated.
On his part, the Chief of the Cyprus Police, Stelios Papatheodorou, referred in his address to the importance of the conference and the actions taken by the Police for the protection of human rights.
He noted that the Police, recognizing the institutional role it plays in the effective fight against racism and xenophobia and for the protection of human rights, make continuous and intensive efforts to fulfil its obligations.
The aim of the Police, he said, “is to protect the rights of every citizen, regardless of their personal choices, to adopt a culture of acceptance and respect for diversity and to treat all our fellow human beings equally”.
(Cyprus News Agency)
