A set of amendments tabled on 6 July 2026 to a European Parliament resolution on the impact of the 1974 Turkish invasion on Cypriot women and girls would broaden the scope to include all Cypriot communities, link the invasion to global patterns of sexual violence, and demand comprehensive reparations, demilitarisation, and full sexual and reproductive health services for survivors. The amendments, tabled by MEPs Cecilia Strada (S&D), Irene Montero and Giorgos Georgiou (The Left), and Alice Kuhnke (Verts/ALE), are under examination in the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, which is steering the file. They have not yet been voted on and do not represent the Parliament's final position.
The proposed changes add several new recitals and amend existing paragraphs. A new Recital Ca recognises that suffering from 1974 and earlier intercommunal violence affected women and girls from all Cypriot communities — Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot, Maronite, Armenian, and Latin — and that their experiences deserve equal recognition and support. Recital E is amended to specify that gender-based violence was carried out by Turkish military forces and paramilitary extremists "on the island." Two new recitals address impunity: Recital Ia states that widespread impunity for rape contributes to rape culture, while Recital Ib notes that recent conflicts in Gaza/occupied Palestinian Territory, the DRC, and Sudan show sexual and gender-based violence is systematically used against women, girls, and LGBTIQ+ persons as a tool of terror and control.
On substance, the amendments would expand the resolution's demands. A new Paragraph 2a stresses that all victims are entitled to truth, justice, reparations, and non-repetition, and rejects instrumentalisation of suffering for nationalist or militaristic narratives. New Paragraph 5a links the island's division to militarisation that diverts resources from social policies, calling for demilitarisation, recognition of sexual violence as a war crime, and women's leadership in a future solution. Paragraph 6, as amended, expands recognition of forced displacement to include intercommunal violence affecting all Cypriot communities. Paragraph 9 would call on EU member states to ensure survivors of rape have access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, including emergency contraception, STI/HIV/HPV testing, safe abortion, and maternity care.
one broadens engagement to include civil society and other stakeholders aiming for a comprehensive solution, while the other keeps focus on the Greek Orthodox Church but adds other societal actors addressing trauma. The resolution is expected to be debated in plenary, after which the amendments will be put to a vote. If adopted, the text would become Parliament's position, though it is non-binding on EU institutions or member states.