ECRI Report, (Fifth monitoring cycle).
Country
Cyprus
Year
Type of publication
Geographical coverage
National
Area/location of interest
Type of Institution
Council of Europe body
Institution
Main Thematic Focus
Racism & xenophobia Discrimination Ethnic profiling
Target Population
Muslims Migrants Ethnic minorities People with migrant background Refugees & asylum seekers
Key findings
ECRI strongly recommends that the police are clearly instructed to record any racist motivation behind all offences involving violence as well as in as well as in relation to any ordinary offence and to investigate these elements thoroughly.
• ECRI strongly recommends that racial profiling by the police is defined and prohibited by law, in accordance with its General Policy Recommendation No. 11 on combating racism and racial discrimination in policing. It also recommends further human rights training for police.
• In view of the existing situation as regards racist and homophobic hate speech, ECRI recommends that the authorities increase the penalties for homo/transphobic hate speech under the new Criminal Code provisions so that they are identical to those for racist hate speech in Law 134(I)2011
• ECRI strongly recommends that the authorities develop a new integration plan for non-nationals, including foreign domestic workers, refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and other migrants. This should be done in close cooperation with the UNHCR, relevant NGOs and migrant associations, and should be accompanied by an awareness-raising campaign to inform the public, as well as employers and financial institutions, about the rights of beneficiaries of international protection.
Methodology (Qualitative/Quantitative and exact type used, questionnaires etc)
The working methods for the preparation of the reports involve documentary analyses, a visit to the country concerned, and then a confidential dialogue with the national authorities.
Sample details and representativeness
ECRI’s reports are analyses based on a great deal of information gathered from a wide variety of sources.