E/C.12/CYP/CO/6
discrimination laws. In this context, the Committee urges the State party to review the
existing legislation with a view to removing all discriminatory provisions. The
Committee recommends that the State party adopt a comprehensive antidiscrimination law that prohibits all direct, indirect and multiple forms of
discrimination on any grounds and that provides for effective remedies for victims of
discrimination, including within judicial and administrative proceedings. It also
recommends that the State party intensify its efforts to raise awareness of the antidiscrimination legal framework among the public, particularly rights holders and
judicial and law enforcement officials. In this regard, it draws the State party’s
attention to its general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic,
social and cultural rights.
Asylum seekers
15.
While noting the efforts made by the State party to improve the situation of asylum
seekers, the Committee is concerned at:
(a)
The inadequate conditions of, and services provided at, the reception centres
for asylum seekers, particularly for women and children, and the use of the emergency
facility for an extended period;
(b)
The insufficient amount of the social assistance benefits provided to asylum
seekers, which is less than half of the guaranteed minimum income;
(c)
The very limited range of employment opportunities for asylum seekers,
which are mostly offered in remote areas without adequate transport or accommodation
provided;
(d)
The new detention policy concerning asylum seekers, which allows for the
detention of asylum seekers who have a judicial recourse pending before the Supreme
Court and does not provide for the release of asylum seekers who are under deportation
orders and subsequently apply for asylum during detention (arts. 2 (2), 3, 6 and 11).
16.
The Committee recommends that the State party continue its efforts to:
(a)
Expand the reception capacity of the existing reception centre in Kofinou
and consider creating additional capacity elsewhere, and ensure that the emergency
facility is used only for its initial purpose;
(b)
Improve the services provided to asylum seekers at the reception centre,
including health-care services, social and psychological counselling and language and
vocational training, and make transportation to asylum seekers’ workplaces available;
(c)
Ensure that all the specific needs of women, children and persons with
disabilities are fully recognized in the policies and programmes concerning asylum
seekers;
(d)
Increase the amount of the social assistance benefits provided to asylum
seekers to the level of the guaranteed minimum income to ensure an adequate
standard of living;
(e)
Expand the range of jobs and employment opportunities that asylum
seekers can access;
(f)
Review its asylum detention policy with a view to limiting the detention
of asylum seekers only to situations in which it is absolutely necessary and shortening
the time that rejected asylum seekers spend in detention to an indispensable minimum,
and apply, as a rule, measures and alternatives to detention.
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