The Birth of a Republic, But Not of a Nation: The Case of State-Building in Cyprus

The principle of bicommunality has been advanced as a founding feature of state-building in Cyprus. The aim of this article is to provide a systematic account of the different variations of the bicommunal principle enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus and in the Annan Plan as the most comprehensive proposal for the reunification of the island. In order to achieve its scope, the article focuses on the provisions concerning state institutions and citizenship. It argues that, in all those constitutional structures, state-building is not linked with nation-building. In fact, the acceptance of bicommunalism as a fundamental principle of the united Cyprus proves that the main concern has been the accommodation of the political tensions resulting from a divided society. “The only thing that is truly Cypriot are Cyprus donkeys.” Rauf Denktas, former leader of the Turkish Cypriot communi

Explaining disappearances as a tool of political terror

Despite the widespread use of disappearances as a central tool of terror in recent decades, little is known about the emergence of the phenomenon or its underlying rationale. We argue that growing international accountability norms, coupled with the improved quality of reporting human rights abuses, paradoxically reshaped the repressive strategies of certain regimes and pushed them to deploy more clandestine and extrajudicial forms of repression, predominantly disappearances. We also explore the timing of disappearances: when a state decides to deploy a particular instrument of terror can greatly benefit our understanding of why it was used. We show that repressive regimes tend to use disappearances in the first period after a coup, taking advantage of the general confusion and opacity to secure strategic benefits and protect the regime from external scrutiny and future accountability. Our findings contribute to the growing literature on human rights and political repression by highlighting an ‘unintended consequence’ of international accountability norms: repressive regimes turn to clandestine crimes

An Affront to the Conscience of Humanity: Enforced disappearance in international human rights law

Defence date: 27 June 2012Examining Board: Professor Martin Scheinin, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Francesco Francioni, European University Institute; Professor Manfred Nowak, (Universität Wien); Professor Olivier de Frouville, (Clare Hall, Cambridge).This PhD thesis takes issue with the practice of enforced disappearance as a multiple and complex human rights violation and covers various topics related to enforced disappearance. The point of departure is the historical development of the UN reaction to enforced disappearance and the creation of special mechanisms within that organization, which were drawn up in order to confront this practice. Linking the main theme with public international law, the thesis continues with the examination of the sources of law, both treaty and customary based, and juxtaposes the definitions of enforced disappearance that are found in international instruments with a view to ascertaining whether any discrepancies exist. In the subsequent chapters, the main methodological tool is the cross-jurisdictional comparative and interpretive assessment of the practice of three different human rights bodies, namely of the Human Rights Committee, the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In this connection, the thesis identifies the areas of convergence and divergence in the work of these bodies. Further, the thesis also engages in the discussion of two significant topics that are directly related to the general theme, namely the right to truth and the phenomenon of extraordinary renditions. With regard to the right to truth, the main focus is on the interplay of this right with amnesty laws. At the same time the latter’s compatibility with international law is examined. As for extraordinary renditions, the argument that is advanced is that this phenomenon is a new form of enforced disappearance and that it must be confronted as such. Overall, the thesis centres on the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances and assess the evolution of human rights protection that this convention brings about

Minority participation in public life: the case of Greece

This article examines Greece's stance towards minorities in the light of the recent UN Report of the Independent Expert on Minority Issues regarding her mission to Greece. The epicentre of the paper is the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in minority cases against Greece in which minority participation in public life and Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights are involved. The article concludes by supporting the idea of the necessity for a change of the current position maintained by Greece as regards the Macedonian and Turkish minorities living in Greece

Minority rights : solutions to the Cyprus conflict

Nikolas Kyriakou; Nurcan Kay

Enhancing bioproduction and thermotolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae via cell immobilization on biochar: Application in a citrus peel waste biorefinery

A novel method for enhancement of ethanol production and temperature tolerance of S. cerevisiae through the development of biochar-based biocatalysts (BBBs) is reported. Immobilized BBBs were applied in alcoholic fermentations of hydrolyzates generated via a citrus peel waste (CPW) biorefinery, which allowed extraction of high-purity pectin that reached 30.5% (w/w). Pistachio-nut shells, peanut shells and corks were employed for biochar generation via pyrolysis to produce the cell carriers required. All materials were highly carbonaceous with mesopore size structures (1–50 μm), while peanut shells biochar was crystalline incorporating calcite and sylvite. S. cerevisiae immobilized on pistachio-nuts biochar grown on a synthetic CPW hydrolysate, exhibited 63 g L−1 ethanol concentration and 7.9 g L−1 h−1 productivity improving substantially biosystem performance as compared to unsupported cultures. Alcoholic fermentations conducted at different elevated temperatures (37–41 °C) exhibited stable performance of the immobilized system for six repeated batch experiments. Fermentations of the CPW-hydrolyzate formed through the biorefinery at 41 °C using BBB produced 30.8 g L−1 of ethanol, while free cells achieved significantly lower concentration (13.4 g L−1). The proposed technology confers thermotolerance on S. cerevisiae, which buffers the negative impact of high temperatures on cells leading in increased bioethanol production and lower energy demand