The European Parliament’s Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee on Wednesday adopted a resolution on the impact of the 1974 Turkish invasion on Cypriot women and girls, calling for accountability, survivor support and women’s participation in peace processes.
The text was adopted by 28 votes in favour and four against, with one abstention.
The resolution condemns the continued Turkish occupation of Cyprus and the crimes committed by Turkish forces, underlining the lasting consequences for Cypriot women and girls, including conflict-related sexual violence, forced displacement, family separation, trauma, stigma, and long-term social and economic harm. It condemns the use of sexual violence as a weapon, which it describes as a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions, and calls for recognition, accountability, redress and comprehensive support for survivors and their families.
MEPs called for reinforced EU support for the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus and for victim-centred services, including trauma-informed counselling, psychosocial assistance and intergenerational healing programmes. They also called for full and effective reparations.
The resolution calls for the urgent resumption of UN-led reunification talks and the withdrawal of all Turkish forces, reaffirming that the only solution is a fair, comprehensive, viable and democratic settlement on the basis of a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality, in line with relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
MEPs called for the full, equal and meaningful participation of Cypriot women in all peace processes. They also backed the initiative for a monument in Nicosia to women victims of sexual violence, and the formal recognition of victims’ testimonies.
Rapporteur Eleonora Meleti (EPP, Greece) said the resolution delivered on a commitment made to survivors during the committee’s mission to Cyprus and ensured that the suffering and resilience of Cypriot women and girls was recognised at European level. “The Cyprus issue is inseparable from the principles of international law and European values,” she said.
The oral question and motion for a resolution will be tabled at an upcoming plenary session. The resolution follows the committee’s mission to Nicosia from May 26 to 28, 2025.
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