Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Ordinary meeting

Transcript

So we are late, so let's move to the presentation on the draft resolution, the impact of the 1974 Turkish invasion on Cypriot women and girls and the crimes committed by Turkish forces and consequences on gender equality. This resolution follows up on the mission to Nicosia, Cyprus, organized by this committee on the 26th, 28th of March of last year on the impact of conflict and post-conflict trauma on communities and particularly on women and girls. So I would like now to give the floor to the rapporteur, Eleonora Meletti, for five minutes. So the floor is yours.

Thank you very much, my dear chair. Dear colleagues, today we give voice to those, I beg your pardon. So we give a voice to all those women who really all these years, during all these years, are living in the shadows. We bring into the parliament for discussion a truth, a truth which has not been noted as it should, it hasn't spoken about as it should, and it didn't find justice as it should.

Fifty years and more after the Turkish invasion into Cyprus, there's still women who are carrying within these sad moments, violence, being the fear that never left. And these women have not spoken for decades, not because they didn't want, but because they couldn't speak, because society was not ready to listen, because shame was transferred to the victims and not to those who were the perpetrators. Today, these women do not want revenge. They want the self-evident, a recognition, justice and dignity.

The sexual violence that was exercised then, there's not something isolated, it was a tool, a war tool used, was an act of trying to destroy the social fabric. And this passed to the next generations. It passed through silence, through the stigma and through the absence of justice. This discussion, we should clarify, it doesn't concern yesterday only, it concerns today.

When we talk about Cyprus, we're talking about European territory that is under occupation. We're talking about European citizens that were victims of war crimes for women whose voice was silenced and with great violence it was silenced. And we have to break this silence. With this resolution and the oral question we are setting, we give the agenda mentioned into these crimes.

We say that there is need for justice. We need support. We're requesting support for the victims and the families. And we call the European Union to follow its principles.

We, as the EPP, we believe in Europe that does not forget. It doesn't compromise with impunity. It respects and defends those who are victims of injustice. We cannot defend the rights of women internationally if we ignore our historical responsibilities.

That's why I call upon you to support this initiative for women who have never spoken, for those who today find the force to speak and in order to assure that no woman will ever need to be silenced again. Memory is not a revenge. Memory is a precondition for justice, of respect and responsibility. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you very much. And now for S&D, Cecilia Estrada. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I will speak in Italian, if I may. Sexual violence is a brutal violation of human rights. And it's covered by the Geneva Convention, the Rome Statute and the Istanbul Convention, whether in peace or war times. The use of rape as a tool of war in Cyprus has affected women in all communities, Turkish Cypriot, Greek Cypriot, Armenian and several others.

Rape as an arm of war has not been followed up. There has been impunity for decades. We see that part of it is because of systemic violence and gender inequality. It undermines trust in reconciliation.

The experience of women and girls across Cyprus who have experienced harassment and rape have led to trauma. And so I would just recall the legislation set out in the Istanbul Convention. The Commission is opening the route to this by establishing the concept of rape as whenever there is not consent. But memory is not enough.

Victims of gender-based violence have to have full access to legal, psychological and medical help in every case. The judiciary and police services need to have specialized training in sexual violence. And finally, victim support programs have to be accessible, affordable and adapted to the unique experiences of all victims to ensure that no one is left behind. Cecilia, could you speak a bit more slowly, says the Chair.

We want to have investment in policies that will support survivors across the EU. And we want to have sincere dialogue with civil society and international organizations. Strong involvement of civil society stakeholders to put an end to impunity, to put an end to rape culture and to build a future where justice and dignity will prevail for all, both in Cyprus and everywhere else. Thank you, Madam Chair.

The Patriots haven't looked at this report, so I haven't prepared anything. Apologies for that. ECR, I don't see Laurence Rochoux. Renew, Jonathan.

Thank you, Chair. And I would like to thank the rapporteur for her work on preparing this draft resolution. In this committee, we know, unfortunately, very well that the perspective of women is often disregarded or forgotten in every aspect of life. This is also the case for war and other violent conflicts.

And this is where we see such terrible skins of injustice towards women and girls. The mission of the FEM committee to Cyprus brought us about the experience of some of the victims and the pain they went through. And the mission reminded us not only on how common sexual violence becomes during conflicts, but also that it's often used as a weapon of war against the other side. With this resolution, we have the opportunity to acknowledge the devastating impact on women and girls on the invasion of Cyprus by Turkey 52 years ago.

We need to do this because the women that suffered this trauma deserve to have their suffering recognized, and they need to know that they do not deserve to feel the pain and shame that come with such terrible acts. And we need to do this because we have to learn how to act better in times of conflict to protect all victims, especially women and girls, that will be in a vulnerable situation. These are the two principles that should be the basis of resolution, and I have made my proposed changes to the draft resolution in this direction. We need to send a strong signal of support for the women of Cyprus and across conflict zones all across the world.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. No one from the Greens.

The left. No. ESN. No.

So I give the floor to other members requesting to take the floor, and I'm sure Mr. Poulas would like to. So you have for one minute. If it's a bit longer, it's fine.

One minute is more than enough. Thank you so much. I will continue in Greek. Colleagues, the smallest victim of rape was nine years old, the youngest member.

It was raped in front of her mother, her father, and her brother, who was killed by the Turkish troops. The biggest victim was an old lady, 93 years old. She was raped by many troops, four Turkish troops. They raped her successively, and then they killed her.

When we went to Cyprus and we lived the experience to hear women, what they had to say after 54 years, and to open their soul, this was something that gave us relief. It was the first time in the six years I'm an MEP where I saw the interpreters to stop the interpretation because they couldn't continue. In May, we have a year from the mission in Cyprus. So we should vote this resolution in May, in the 52 years from the invasion in July, to pass it through the parliament.

May it be a small medicine, something that will heal their wounds a bit. You know, in Cyprus, we have grannies and mothers who have never spoken to their children about this, but they have the force, they had the force to come to the mission because they had to make this, to talk about it. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Indeed, as we have dealt with a few times already in this committee, the use of rape as a weapon must be completely condemned. So thank you. Thank you very much.

And so the rapporteur is not. And so thank you very much. I wish you the best of luck with the head of the resolution that obviously I hope will pass. And any other business?

If not, we'll finish our long session. Thank you to the interpreters and to everyone. And now we ask everyone that it is not coordinators of their teams to leave the room because now we have to start our coordinators meeting that it is starting already 23 minutes late. So.

OK, so thank you. So we'll start 1730. So you have five minutes to leave the room. OK, thank you.