Abstract

The process of recovery from mass violence and its aftermath tends to be understood as necessarily holding human rights at its centre.  In this short intervention, I will touch on three questions relating to the role of human rights in dealing with the ‘Cyprus problem’. I use the term ‘Cyprus problem’ to capture a variety of dimensions of Cyprus’ past and current predicament, notably the coup and invasion of 1974 and their aftermath. 

The questions I propose to consider are: 1) how has recourse to the European Court of Human Rights delineated the contours of redress for abuses of human rights that fall within the scope of the Cyprus problem; 2) how and to what effect have human rights been invoked in non-juridical contexts to address (ongoing) harms falling within the scope of the Cyprus problem; and 3) how can human rights be part of peace-making in Cyprus. Within the confines of my short intervention, I consider how grappling with the nuances of human rights within and beyond the legal frame helps us make sense of their potential and limits in delivering justice and making peace.