IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1199 

Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion and occupation 

of northern Cyprus. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2024 

Ms. MALLIOTAKIS (for herself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Ms. TITUS, Mr. SARBANES, 

and Mr. PAPPAS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Turkish invasion 

and occupation of northern Cyprus. 

Whereas, on July 20, 1974, the Government of Turkey ordered its military to invade the Republic of Cyprus in violation of the Treaty of Establishment, the Treaty of Alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty, and the Treaty of Guarantee which established the Republic of Cyprus and guaranteed the independence of the Republic of Cyprus, as 

well as the United Nations Charter and customary international law; 

Whereas this year marks 50 years since the illegal Turkish 

invasion in 1974 and continued occupation since then of 

Cyprus, marking the first time since World War II that 


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•HRES 1199 IH 

a European country was militarily invaded in violation of 

international law; 

Whereas the people of Cyprus have suffered, for 5 decades, 

the persistent violation of their human rights and fundamental freedoms due to this invasion and continued occupation; 

Whereas more than 160,000 Cypriots (corresponding to onethird of the population of the island in 1974) have been 

forcibly displaced from their ancestral land, becoming refugees in their own country; 

Whereas the Government of Turkey has brought in over 

200,000 illegal settlers into the occupied territory of Cyprus seeking to change the demography as well as the sociopolitical fabric of the area, in violation of the Geneva 

Conventions and international humanitarian law; 

Whereas the United Nations Security Council responded on 

the day of the invasion with Resolution 353, calling for 

an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of foreign 

military personnel from Cyprus; 

Whereas Turkey has refused to comply with judgments from 

the European Court of Human Rights, confirming that 

persons, including United States citizens who hold title to 

real property located in the area of the Republic of Cyprus under the illegal Turkish occupation, are the only 

rightful owners of that real property; 

Whereas, on August 16, 1974, a cease-fire agreement was 

reached establishing a buffer zone monitored by the 

United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus 

(UNFICYP), effectively dividing the island into Turkishcontrolled and Greek Cypriot-controlled zones; 


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•HRES 1199 IH 

Whereas Turkey’s policy of illegal colonization includes constant harassment of the enclaved people, restrictions on 

their movement, denial of access to adequate medical 

care, denial of adequate facilities for education, and restrictions on the right to use their property and the free 

exercise of their religious rights in line with its deliberate 

policy of ethnic cleansing; and 

Whereas, in October 2020 and July 2021, Turkey began illegally reopening parts of the fenced-off area of Varosha, 

aiming to inhabit it by settlers under the control of the 

illegal occupying regime in violation of United Nations 

Security Council Resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992) 

which call for the immediate return of Varosha to its 

legal inhabitants under United Nations administration: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) marks with sober recognition the 50th anni3 versary of the Turkish invasion and occupation of 

4 northern Cyprus; 

5 (2) strongly condemns Turkey’s continued occu6 pation of Cyprus and calls upon Turkey to imme7 diately withdraw all of its estimated 35,000 occu8 pying troops from the island; 

9 (3) reiterates that the settlement of the Cyprus 

10 problem must be based on a bizonal, bicommunal 

11 federation with a single sovereignty, a single citizen12 ship, and a single international personality, embracVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 May 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1199.IH HR1199

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•HRES 1199 IH 

1 ing constitutional democratic norms and inter2 national principles; 

3 (4) calls on Turkey to remove its over 200,000 

4 illegal settlers from Turkish-occupied Cyprus and as5 sist in repatriating Greek-Cypriot refugees to their 

6 ancestral homes; 

7 (5) demands Turkey’s full cooperation in deter8 mining the fate of all remaining missing persons, in9 cluding 4 United States citizens; and 

10 (6) calls on Turkey to abide by the United Na11 tions Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 

12 and respect the sovereign rights of the Republic of 

13 Cyprus in its maritime zones. 

Æ 


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