Working In Cyprus

Cyprus is a destination country for women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Traffickers who forced women into prostitution continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas. There was increasing evidence of Chinese women being trafficked for sexual exploitation in Cyprus. The Government of Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Cyprus made some progress in its anti-trafficking efforts over the past year. The new police anti-trafficking unit produced successful results and showed vigilance in combating the problem. Government recognition of the problem improve ... [Read More]

USIA, U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda, July 1998 -- JamesNotterand John McDonald, "Building Regional Security: NGOs andGovernments in Partnership"

During the Cold War, even before the term was coined, many NGOsand individuals were involved in track two diplomacy, attemptingtobuild bridges between the two superpowers and working tode-escalateconflicts and crises, which, given the nuclear capabilities ofthe UnitedStates and the Soviet Union, represented very serious threats. TheAmerican Friends Service Committee and Moral Re-Armament workedunofficially on relations between East and West Germany, andbetweenFrance and Germany, in the 1950s and 1960s. Several prominentindividuals and journalists have been involved in unofficialdialogues incrisis situations, including the Dominican Republic in 1965 andtheCuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The Dartmouth Conference, anongovernmental dialogue group that focused on Cold War issues,started in 1959 and continued through the late 1980s. The groupmetmany times during those decades, discussing informally theimportantdifferences of the day in U.S.-Soviet relations. Even at timeswhengovernment off ... [Read More]

2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Cyprus
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Cyprus

The Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice. The basic law governing the Turkish Cypriot community refers specifically to a "secular republic" and provides for freedom of religion, and the Turkish Cypriot authorities generally respect this right in practice. However, the politically divisive environment on Cyprus occasionally affected aspects of religious freedom. There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report, and government policy continued to contribute to the generally free practice of religion. After the Turkish Cypriot authorities' decision to relax crossing restrictions on April 23, 2003, Greek Cypriots reported relatively easy access to religious sites in the north, including Apostolos Andreas monastery; Turkish Cypriots equally were ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Bush, Turkey's Prime Minister Discuss Iraq, Cyprus, War on Terror

McClellan said he expected that over luncheon the two leaders would also discuss the greater Middle East area and the importance of continuing to promote freedom and democracy and peace in that region, as well as continuing discussions on Cyprus, including moving forward on the U.N. secretary general's efforts to resolve that matter. ...

"And we urge our Greek Cypriot friends to agree to finalize a settlement and allow the secretary general to resolve outstanding issues, if necessary, and submit a settlement to referenda by a date certain. Because we believe such a settlement will bring greater stability and prosperity to all people on Cyprus and in Turkey as they move toward deeper integration into Europe." ... [Read More]