III 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 47 

Expressing the sense of Congress on the sovereignty of the Republic of 

Cyprus over all of the territory of the island of Cyprus. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 6, 2012 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Ms. SNOWE) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of Congress on the sovereignty of the 

Republic of Cyprus over all of the territory of the island 

of Cyprus. 

Whereas the Republic of Cyprus is an independent, sovereign 

nation-state; 

Whereas the Republic of Cyprus, as the only sovereign state 

on the island of Cyprus, is a member of the United Nations, the European Union, and other key international 

and multilateral organizations; 

Whereas Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has stated that 

the Republic of Cyprus is ‘‘strategically important’’; 

Whereas the Government of Cyprus is a close friend and 

partner of the United States Government in the volatile 

eastern Mediterranean region; 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•SCON 47 IS 

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 939 

(1994) reaffirms that a solution to the Cypriot issue 

must be based on a State of Cyprus with a single sovereignty and international personality, and a single citizenship, with its independence and territorial integrity 

safeguarded, and comprising two politically equal communities as described in the relevant Security Council resolutions, in a bicommunal and bizonal federation, and that 

such a settlement must exclude union in whole or in part 

with any other country or any form of partition or secession; 

Whereas the Government of Turkey illegally occupies the 

northern area of Cyprus with an armed force of 43,000 

troops; 

Whereas Article 49 of the Geneva Convention relative to the 

Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, done at 

Geneva August 12, 1949, states, ‘‘The Occupying Power 

shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.’’; 

Whereas, in 1954, the Government of Turkey ratified the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian 

Persons in Time of War, done at Geneva August 12, 

1949; 

Whereas the Government of Turkey is attempting to colonize 

the part of Cyprus it occupies by sending hundreds of 

thousands of citizens of Turkey to live permanently in 

Cyprus; 

Whereas the demographic composition of the Republic of Cyprus in 1974 was estimated to be 506,000 Greek-Cypriots and 118,000 Turkish-Cypriots; 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•SCON 47 IS 

Whereas the current demographic composition of the Republic of Cyprus is estimated to be 672,000 Greek-Cypriots, 

89,000 Turkish-Cypriots, and 200,000–500,000 citizens 

of Turkey transferred by the Government of Turkey to 

live permanently in Cyprus; 

Whereas the Turkish-Cypriot community’s leadership rejected 

the Council of Europe’s request to conduct an island-wide 

census to accurately determine the current demographic 

composition of the island’s population; 

Whereas the Government of Turkey’s colonization plan was 

publicly exposed when Turkish Prime Minister Recep 

Tayyip Erdogan told Turkish-Cypriots protesting against 

the transfer of colonists from Turkey in the summer of 

2011, ‘‘If you don’t want us to send people, you need to 

have more babies.’’; 

Whereas the demographic composition of Cyprus is being dramatically and illegally altered by the influx of non-Cypriot colonists sent from Turkey; 

Whereas 40,000 Turkish-Cypriots protested against Turkish 

austerity measures during demonstrations in 2011, with 

hundreds shouting and holding signs reading, ‘‘Ankara, 

get your hand off our shores.’’; 

Whereas, on March 4, 2012, Turkey’s European Union Minister, Egemen Bagis, called for ‘‘annexing northern Cyprus to Turkey,’’ an action that would be in direct violation of the United Nations Charter, United Nations Security Council resolutions on Cyprus, and United States 

Government policy toward Cyprus; 

Whereas, in recent years, the Republic of Cyprus, along with 

other countries in the eastern Mediterranean, including 

Israel, have discovered vast reserves of natural gas within 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•SCON 47 IS 

their territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones 

(EEZs); 

Whereas Cyprus and Israel recently signed an agreement defining the boundaries of their respective EEZs, and, on 

that basis, are proceeding with the exploration of natural 

gas reserves; 

Whereas a United States company is currently developing hydrocarbon deposits in the offshore EEZs of Cyprus and 

Israel; 

Whereas these developments are significant for the energy security and independence of Europe; 

Whereas the United States Government supports the sovereign rights of Cyprus and Israel to explore hydrocarbon 

deposits in their respective EEZs; 

Whereas the Government of Turkey is seeking to expand its 

illegal occupation to control portions of the EEZ of Cyprus and illegally seize and exploit the energy resources 

of Cyprus; 

Whereas the Government of Turkey has engaged in a variety 

of provocative and bellicose actions, including sending 

warships off the southern coast of Cyprus to escort a 

Turkish research vessel looking for hydrocarbon deposits, 

conducting air and naval military exercises south of Cyprus in the area of exploration, declaring invalid the 

agreement between Israel and Cyprus demarcating their 

maritime borders, and threatening the use of military action against Cyprus; 

Whereas the highest levels of the United States Government 

have privately urged the Government of Turkey not to 

follow through with its threats against Cyprus for exerVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:40 Jun 07, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC47.IS SC47

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•SCON 47 IS 

cising its sovereign right to explore its natural resources; 

and 

Whereas, on April 26, 2012, the Government of Turkey 

began illegally drilling for oil and natural gas on the island of Cyprus, within the sovereign territory of the Republic of Cyprus: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) respects and accepts the sovereignty of the 

4 Republic of Cyprus over all of the territory of the is5 land of Cyprus; 

6 (2) urges the Government of Turkey to respect, 

7 accept, and formally recognize the sovereignty of the 

8 Republic of Cyprus over all of the territory of the is9 land of Cyprus, end its illegal military occupation of 

10 Cyprus, and accept and fully implement all United 

11 Nations Security Council Resolutions on Cyprus; 

12 (3) supports the Republic of Cyprus in its plans 

13 to explore and exploit energy reserves within its Ex14 clusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and praises the Gov15 ernments of the Republic of Cyprus and Israel for 

16 working cooperatively to develop the energy holdings 

17 in the region; 

18 (4) urges the Government of Turkey to cease 

19 all activities and plans to further develop energy reVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:40 Jun 07, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SC47.IS SC47

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•SCON 47 IS 

1 sources illegally within the territory and EEZ of the 

2 Republic of Cyprus; 

3 (5) opposes the Government of Turkey’s threat4 ening statements and naval movements designed to 

5 prevent the Republic of Cyprus from exploiting its 

6 energy resources; 

7 (6) expresses serious concern about the effort 

8 by the Government of Turkey to colonize the area of 

9 northern Cyprus by sending hundreds of thousands 

10 of non-Cypriot Turkish citizens to live in Cyprus; 

11 (7) considers the Government of Turkey in 

12 grave violation of Article 49 of the Geneva Conven13 tion relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in 

14 Time of War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949, by 

15 transferring parts of its civilian population into oc16 cupied northern Cyprus; and 

17 (8) urges the President to call on the Govern18 ment of Turkey to end its illegal colonization of Cy19 prus with non-Cypriot populations, terminate its oc20 cupation of northern Cyprus, and cease its illegal in21 terference with the exploitation by the Government 

22 of the Republic of Cyprus of its energy resources. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS