THIRTY-FIFTH ORDINARY SESSION
RECOMMENDATION 974 (1983)1
on the situation in Cyprus

The Assembly,

1. Recalling its Recommendations 736 (1974) and 759 (1975) and its Resolutions 573 and 574 (1974), 615 (1976), 657 (1977) and 673 (1978) on the situation in Cyprus;
2. Reiterating its constant concern to ensure that the whole of the population of Cyprus is democratically represented among its membership in accordance with the Statute of the Council of Europe and the Assembly's own Rules of Procedure;
3. Deploring the unilateral proclamation by the leadership of the Turkish Cypriot community of the secession of a part of the Republic of Cyprus;
4. Considering that this unilateral decision, placing the Cypriots before a fait accompli, was premeditated;
5. Considering that this act in no way prejudices the future and can in no way result in making the portion of Cyprus official in the eyes of the international community;
6. Recalling its strong support for all the efforts made to foster intercommunal negotiations and, in that context, for the successive good offices missions of the Secretaries General of the United Nations;
7. Considering the major responsibility which falls on the Council of Europe which brings together the Republic of Cyprus and Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, the three guarantor states of the Cypriot Constitution of 1960, unfortunately imperfectly implemented for twenty years, in an atmosphere where democratic dialogue prevails;
8. Being determined to encourage, in its political groups and committees and through its debates, personal contacts between political leaders of the countries directly concerned in a climate of reconciliation and to keep the problem of Cyprus on its agenda while stepping up its efforts to promote a reasonable solution acceptable to all the parties involved;
9. Calls upon the leadership of the Turkish Cypriot community to reverse their decision of 15 November;
10. Calls for respect for the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity of the Republic of Cyprus;
    
11. Calls upon the representatives of the Greek and Turkish communities to resume the intercommunal negotiations, under the auspices of the Secretary General of the United Nations, as soon as possible with a view to achieving a just and reasonable solution to the problem of Cyprus on a new legal basis;
12. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers, at its 73rd Session in Strasbourg on 24 November 1983:
13. demonstrate its attachment to democratic values and human rights, as laid down in the Statute of the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights, including the rights of minorities, by playing the full political role conferred on the Council of Europe by its Statute where it sets it the goal of achieving a greater unity between its members;
14. reject decisively the unilateral declaration of independence proclaimed in the north of Cyprus;
15. call once again for the immediate withdrawal of the Turkish troops which illegally occupy a part of Cypriot territory, this withdrawal being an indispensable condition for the final solution of the Cyprus crisis;
16. consider an initiative to mediate between the communities of the island, involving the participation of a certain number of member countries not directly concerned, aimed at reestablishing the dialogue between the communities with a view to safeguarding the territorial integrity, the sovereignty and the unity of Cyprus, as well as respect for the minorities living in the island;
17. invite the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers to maintain close and permanent contact with the Secretary General of the United Nations and to indicate the availability of the Council of Europe to take or to support any initiative likely to revive and render productive the intercommunal dialogue in Cyprus;
18. instruct the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to undertake all necessary steps with a view to the rapid solution of the problem of all victims of the events in Cyprus and especially the 1,619 Cypriots of Greek origin who have disappeared since the invasion by the Turkish armed forces in 1974.