r prevent
human trafficking activity do not appear to have been made during
2007; Cuba has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)

Illicit drugs:

territorial waters and air space serve as transshipment zone for US-
and European-bound drugs; established the death penalty for certain
drug-related crimes in 1999

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Cyprus

Introduction
Cyprus

Background:

A former British colony, Cyprus became independent in 1960 following
years of resistance to British rule. Tensions between the Greek
Cypriot majority and Turkish Cypriot minority came to a head in
December 1963, when violence broke out in the capital of Nicosia.
Despite the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 1964, sporadic
intercommunal violence continued forcing most Turkish Cypriots into
enclaves throughout the island. In 1974, a Greek
Government-sponsored attempt to seize control of Cyprus was met by
military intervention from Turkey, which soon controlled more than a
third of the island. In 1983, the Turkish-held area declared itself
the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC), but it is
recognized only by Turkey. The latest two-year round of UN-brokered
talks - between the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot
communities to reach an agreement to reunite the divided island -
ended when the Greek Cypriots rejected the UN settlement plan in an
April 2004 referendum. The entire island entered the EU on 1 May
2004, although the EU acquis - the body of common rights and
obligations - applies only to the areas under direct government
control, and is suspended in the areas administered by Turkish
Cypriots. However, individual Turkish Cypriots able to document
their eligibility for Republic of Cyprus citizenship legally enjoy
the same rights accorded to other citizens of European Union states.
The election of a new Cypriot president in 2008 served as the
impetus for the UN to encourage both the Turkish and Cypriot
Governments to reopen unification negotiations.

Geography
Cyprus

Location:

Middle East, island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey

Geographic coordinates:

35 00 N, 33 00 E

Map references:

Middle East

Area:

total: 9,250 sq km (of which 3,355 sq km are in north Cyprus)
land: 9,240 sq km
water: 10 sq km

Area - comparative:

about 0.6 times the