Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

List of issues in relation to the seventh periodic report of Cyprus *

The State party is requested to submit in writing the information requested below (preferably not exceeding 10,700 words) by 27 October 2023 .

A. General information

Please provide information on measures taken by the State party to incorporate the provisions of the Covenant into its domestic legal order. Please describe the efforts undertaken to raise awareness, in particular among judges, prosecutors and lawyers, of the economic, social and cultural rights enshrined in the Covenant. Please provide examples of cases in which the provisions of the Covenant have been invoked before the State party’s domestic courts. Please provide information on how the legislature was involved in the implementation of and follow-up to the previous concluding observations and in the drafting of the seventh periodic report.

Please provide information on the training that the staff of the Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Ombudsman) have received to ensure the promotion and protection of the full range of rights enshrined in the Covenant. Please provide information on consultations with civil society organizations and other stakeholder groups, including organizations of and for persons with disabilities, people living in poverty, and Roma, as part of the development of new legislation and policies related to economic, social and cultural rights.

Please provide information on measures taken by the State party with regard to the mitigation of climate change, including specific measures, and their impact, to meet the nationally determined contributions for reducing emissions that the State party has set itself under the Paris Agreement. Please also provide information on the progress made in reducing per capita greenhouse gas emissions and on targets that the State party has set for further reductions. With respect to climate change adaptation policies and measures, please provide information on:

(a)How the State party assesses the impacts of climate change on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, particularly for marginalized and disadvantaged individuals and groups;

(b)Whether the State party has developed or plans to develop a national adaptation plan, with an adequate allocation of all required resources, to address the impacts of climate change on, inter alia, economic, social and cultural rights;

(c)Measures taken to strengthen preparedness for and responses to natural disasters, disaster risk reduction measures and measures taken to adopt a strategy to this end, with an adequate allocation of financial resources;

(d)Which institutions are tasked with the development and implementation of climate change adaptation measures and policies for slow-onset impacts in different areas, such as agriculture, housing and health, and how coordination among the institutions responsible for disaster preparedness and management is ensured.

Please inform the Committee about how the State party has taken into account its obligations under the Covenant and the objective of the full realization of the rights enshrined therein in the preparation for and implementation of its national recovery and resilience plan, adopted to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and endorsed by the European Commission on 8 July 2021.

B. Issues relating to the general provisions of the Covenant (arts. 1–5)

Maximum available resources (art. 2 (1))

Please provide information on the evolution of the following, covering the past 10 years:

(a)The proportion of the population living below the nationally defined poverty line;

(b)Levels of inequality, before and after taxes and transfers, if possible defined as the ratio between the total income of the richest 10 per cent of the population and the total income of the poorest 40 per cent and as the ratio between the assets owned by the richest 10 per cent of the population and the assets owned by the poorest 50 per cent;

(c)The economy, in particular through the annual variations of gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita and the level of public debt in proportion to GDP;

(d)The proportion of public revenue generated through taxes and as a percentage of GDP, the proportion of public revenue obtained through direct and indirect taxes, the corporate tax revenue rate and the percentage of total revenue generated from personal tax collected on the incomes of the richest 10 per cent of the population, as well as provide an evaluation of the amount of tax evasion and tax avoidance and the fiscal cost of the main tax benefits;

(e)Public expenditure as a percentage of GDP and, within total public expenditure, the proportion of the public budget allocated to social spending, including social security, food, water and sanitation, housing, health and education;

(f)The proportion of the public budget allocated to defence;

(g)Any fiscal policies adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please provide information with regard to the implementation of the State party’s anti-corruption legislation and describe efforts to combat bribery and other acts of corruption, paying particular attention to land administration, public procurement and tax administration. Please also provide statistical data on the number of cases of corruption prosecuted in the past five years, the sanctions imposed on the perpetrators and the assets resulting from corruption that have been recovered, taking into account the transnational dimensions of those crimes where relevant. Please explain what legislative or other measures have been put in place to protect whistle-blowers and to ensure the protection of and remedies for victims of corruption. Please provide information on the status of the establishment of an independent authority against corruption and on what has been done to implement recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force.

Non-discrimination (art. 2 (2))

Please provide information on the progress made by the State party with regard to reviewing its non-discrimination legislation, in particular section 5 of the Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation Law of 2004, as previously recommended by the Committee, including the status of the adoption of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law, and on any plans to review the Constitution to cover discrimination against persons with disabilities.

Please provide information on specific measures, and the impact thereof, taken by the State party to remedy the deteriorating conditions and difficulties associated with State aid, housing and employment faced by asylum-seekers, as previously addressed by the Committee.

Equal rights of men and women (art. 3)

Please provide information on the preliminary outcomes of the implementation of the National Action Plan on Equality between Women and Men for the period 2019–2022, as well as key issues concerning the equal rights of men and women that the State party will address in the short-to-medium term. With reference to the State party report, please provide additional information on the measures taken to close the gender pay gap and to improve the representation of women in public and political life and in decision-making roles in the private sector. Please provide an update on the number of convictions under Law 86(I)/2021, on sexual harassment and harassment.

Please provide information on the Commissioner for Gender Equality established in 2020, including on the legislation establishing the post, the resources allocated to it and the specific activities carried out by the Commissioner since 2020.

C. Issues relating to the specific provisions of the Covenant (arts. 6–15)

Right to work (art. 6)

Noting that the latest data provided by the State party dates from 2011/12, please provide updated comprehensive data on the realization of the right to work in the State party, including labour force participation rates and employment, unemployment and underemployment rates, disaggregated by factors such as age group, disability, sex, region, national origin and sector of the economy.

Please provide information on the number of persons who have participated in the 13 employment-incentive schemes mentioned in the State party report, including, but not limited to, the numbers of persons from minority groups, Roma, migrants, persons with disabilities, persons living in rural areas, single parents and young people who have participated in the schemes. Please also provide updates on the effect of the schemes on unemployment, including of refugees, people from the northern part of Cyprus, women, youth and persons with disabilities. Please describe all measures taken to address the various challenges to the realization of the right to work, taking into account the impacts of the conflict with the northern part of Cyprus and the COVID-19 pandemic. Please indicate the progress made in increasing the employment rate since the start of the pandemic, in 2020, which had a negative effect on the economy of Cyprus.

Right to just and favourable conditions of work (art. 7)

Taking note of the information provided in the State party report, please explain how employers’ and workers’ organizations are consulted in the establishment of minimum wages in sectors other than the hotel industry and the construction industry. Please also explain any measures taken for the indexation of the minimum wage to the cost of living, in order to ensure that it enables workers and their families to enjoy a decent standard of living.

Please provide information on measures taken for the implementation of the Committee’s previous recommendations, and the impact thereof, in relation to the situation of workers who are not adequately covered by labour legislation and social protection. Please provide information on what the State party has done in particular to address the precarious situation of domestic workers. Please provide information on any steps taken to ratify international conventions to this effect. Please provide detailed information on the implementation of the 14 special schemes to provide financial help to all employees and businesses affected by the pandemic. Please also provide information on specific policy measures taken to address the precarious situation and vulnerability of migrant domestic workers, as previously addressed by the Committee. Please provide information on the resources allocated to the Labour Inspectorate, as well as on its activities, including the number of unannounced visits conducted and the number of fines and other sanctions imposed.

Trade union rights (art. 8)

In the light of the Committee’s previous recommendations, please provide updated information on the current number of workers and percentage of the workforce that are unionized. Please provide information on any legislative or policy measures taken since the last periodic report of the State party, in 2016, to protect the right of non-unionized workers to just and favorable conditions of work, in particular in terms of fair remuneration, safe and healthy working conditions, equal opportunities in employment, rest and leisure and working hours. Please provide information on the State party’s current legal framework with regard to conditions and restrictions in relation to the exercise of trade union rights, including the right to strike, and how those laws have been used during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please also provide information on the extent to which workers in different sectors of the economy are able to freely form and join a trade union of their choice, and to what extent they were able to participate in trade union activities during the measures and restrictions imposed by the State party in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Right to social security (art. 9)

Please provide information on measures taken by the State party to ensure that the requirement to have a minimum of 728 weeks of insurance contributions up to the pensionable age does not hinder the right to social security. Please provide updated information on the State party’s legal framework in relation to social security for Turkish Cypriots born of mixed marriages.

Please provide information on the State party’s measures to mitigate the negative effects on social security as a result of the economic contraction resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the total amount spent to date, the number of recipients and the amount paid to each recipient. Please provide statistical data on social security coverage and access in the State party, disaggregated by age group, disability, sex, region, national origin, employment status and socioeconomic status. Please describe measures taken to ensure that social security benefits are sufficient to provide the recipients with an adequate standard of living, including in the context of rising inflation.

Protection of the family and children (art. 10)

Please explain how the change of the Marriage Law (L.104 (I)/2003) by the enactment of Civil Union Act 184(I)/2015A has contributed to the protection of the family and children. Specifically, please provide information on the implementation of the Act since the State party’s last periodic report, including statistical data on the actual take-up of the leave entitlement by each parent, also taking into account families in which the parents are of the same sex and/or gender.

Please provide information on the number of children making use of the various schemes designed to benefit persons with disabilities. Please also provide information on the status regarding the adoption of a uniform definition of disability in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, so that children with disabilities may enjoy the cultural, economic and social rights enshrined in the Covenant.

Right to an adequate standard of living (art. 11)

Please provide specific and statistical information on the measures taken to improve conditions of housing and to provide more social housing units for disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups, including information on the schemes mentioned in the State party’s report.

Please provide information on the impact of the measures taken by the State party to address poverty and social exclusion in its response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, including with regard to groups disproportionately affected by it, such as, but not limited to, single-parent families, older people, Roma, migrants and persons with disabilities. Please also provide information on the groups most at risk of falling below the poverty line, and measures taken to prevent this, in particular in the context of the increase in the cost of living and rising energy prices.

Right to physical and mental health (art. 12)

Please provide information on the general state of health care in Cyprus, including on how the COVID-19 pandemic might have had a negative impact on health care in general and on the health of the general population, including the prevalence and impact of long COVID. Please provide information on short-to-medium term strategic health-care priorities. Please provide information on the impact of the National Strategy for Addressing Dependence on Illicit Substances and the Harmful Use of Alcohol, including the number of persons who have received treatment under this plan. Please also provide information on the availability and accessibility of tests, treatments and vaccines in relation to COVID-19, and statistical data on the population vaccinated against COVID-19, disaggregated by age group, disability, sex, ethnic origin, national origin and socioeconomic status.

Right to education (arts. 13–14)

Please provide information on the measures taken by the State party to strengthen its public education sector and enhance the availability, accessibility and quality of preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary education on a non-discriminatory basis, including key policy priorities. Please provide updated statistical data on school enrolment rates, dropout and irregular attendance rates and educational achievement and results, in particular in compulsory education, disaggregated by age group, disability, sex, ethnic origin, national origin and socioeconomic status.

Please provide information on specific measures taken to address the negative impact of the disruption to education resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s access to education, taking into account any disproportionate effects on disadvantaged and marginalized children. Please also provide specific information on actions taken to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education, as well as the gaps identified during school closures.

Cultural rights (art. 15)

Please provide detailed information on the Cultural Decentralization Programme and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Programme, including the number and percentage of villagers and/or persons living in rural areas who have benefited from the programmes, including disadvantaged and marginalized individuals who do not often have access to such programmes.