Objection submitted on 17 October 2017:
The Republic of Cyprus has examined the Declaration deposited by the Republic of Turkey upon ratification of the “Council of Europe Convention on the Counterfeiting of Medical Products and Similar Crimes Involving Threats to Public Health” (CETS No. 211) dated 28 October 2011, and registered at the Secretariat General of the Council of Europe on 21 September 2017.
The Republic of Turkey declares that its ratification of the “Council of Europe Convention on the Counterfeiting of Medical Products and Similar Crimes Involving Threats to Public Health” neither amounts to any form of recognition of the “Greek Cypriot Administration’s pretention to represent the defunct “Republic of Cyprus”, as party to that Convention, nor should it imply any obligation on the part of Turkey to enter into any dealing with the “so-called Republic of Cyprus” within the framework of the said Convention”.
The Republic of Cyprus is not a State Party to the “Council of Europe Convention on the Counterfeiting of Medical Products and Similar Crimes Involving Threats to Public Health” (CETS No. 211). However, in the view of the Republic of Cyprus, the content and purported effect of this Declaration makes it tantamount in its essence to a reservation contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention. By such Declaration, the Republic of Turkey purports to evade its obligations under the Convention vis-à-vis another equal and sovereign State Party, namely the Republic of Cyprus. Indeed, the Declaration prevents the realization of cooperation between State Parties foreseen by the Convention.
The Republic of Cyprus therefore strongly rejects the aforesaid Declaration made by the Republic of Turkey and considers such declaration to be null and void. The aforementioned objections by the Republic of Cyprus shall not preclude the entry into force of the Convention, in its entirety, between the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Turkey.
Regarding the Republic of Turkey’s pretension, as expressed in the same Declaration, that “the Greek Cypriot Administration’s pretention to represent the defunct “Republic of Cyprus” as party to that Convention, nor should it imply any obligation on the part of Turkey to enter into any dealing with the so-called Republic of Cyprus within the framework of the said Convention”, the Republic of Cyprus would like to remind of the following:
Despite, being, through binding international agreements, a guarantor of “the independence, territorial integrity and security of the Republic of Cyprus” (Article II of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee), the Republic of Turkey illegally invaded Cyprus in 1974 and continues since then occupying 36.2% of the territory of the Republic.
The illegality of such aggression was made manifested by the U.N. Security Council Resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984). Resolution 541’s operative paragraph 2 considers “the declaration [of the Turkish Cypriot authorities of the purported secession of part of the Republic of Cyprus] as legally invalid and “calls for its withdrawal”. Paragraph 6 then “calls upon all States to respect the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus” and further at paragraph 7 “calls upon all States not to recognize any Cypriot state other than the Republic of Cyprus”. Resolution 550, operative para. 2, also “condemns all secessionist actions, including the purported exchange of Ambassadors between Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership, declares them illegal and invalid, and calls for their immediate withdrawal”. Para. 3 then « reiterates the call upon all States not to recognize the purported state of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” set up by secessionist acts and calls upon them not to facilitate or in any way assist the aforesaid secessionist