UN refugee agency says Cyprus still pushes back migrant boats, Cyprus insists agency has it wrong

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus and the United Nations agency for refugees on Thursday clashed over allegations that the east Mediterranean island nation continues to engage in so-called pushbacks against boats loaded with migrants departing from neighboring Syria or Lebanon.

The clash, which unfolded on the state broadcaster Thursday, came a few days after Cypriot authorities recovered two survivors and seven bodies in international waters off Cyprus after their boat apparently sank in rough seas.

Emilia Strovolidou, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, told the state broadcaster that Cypriot police intercepted three boatloads of migrants inside Cypriot territorial waters on between March 13-14 but prevented them from disembarking at Larnaca port, making them turn back to Syria from where they departed.

Cypriot Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis vociferously disputed Strovolidou’s claims, saying Cypriot patrol vessels intercepted two – not three - boats near Lebanon’s territorial waters within Cyprus’ search and rescue area of responsibility.

He said Cypriot authorities requested Lebanon’s assistance – in line with a bilateral agreement - to turn the boats back to the Lebanese coast from where they set sail.

Hartsiotis insisted Cyprus does not engage in pushbacks and abides by its international legal obligations, adding that a “serious organization” such as the UNHCR “must substantiate its claims.” He said any relevant information should be forwarded to Cypriot police for a proper investigation.

Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas also said the UNCHR’s claims “don’t stand.”

“We have every right to protect our borders including those at sea,” Hartsiotis said. Cyprus’ get-tough approach to irregular migrant arrivals saw a precipitous drop in such arrivals over the last two years. In 2024, migrant arrivals dropped 64% relative to 2022, while the percentage of migrant departures increased from 43% in 2022 to 179% in 2024.

The Associated Press asked the UNHCR to account for the discrepancies in the two versions. In a written statement, the agency offered no additional details but insisted that the “individuals on board were denied access to Cyprus and are now back in Syria from where they had fled.”

“The international legal principle of non-refoulement prohibits all states … from engaging in conduct that risks sending people back - directly or indirectly - to a place where they would be at risk of persecution or serious human rights violations,” the statement said.

The Cyprus government’s claim that it doesn’t engage in pushbacks is based on its own definition of what constitutes a pushback. Hartsiotis said a key element to a pushback is the use of violence, saying Cypriot authorities don’t resort to such tactics.

Europe’s top human rights court ruled last October that Cyprus violated the right of two Syrian nationals to seek asylum in the island nation after keeping them, and more than two dozen other people, aboard a boat at sea for two days before sending them back to Lebanon.

The row followed Monday’s rescue of two men some 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Cyprus where a boat they were passengers on sank in rough seas.

Officials said the boat was believed to be carrying at least 20 Syrian men between the ages of 25-30. An ongoing search of the area has turned up nothing more.

The sinking sparked media speculation over Cypriot authorities’ alleged inaction, especially after it was learned that the non-governmental organization Alarm Phone had warned authorities a day earlier of a migrant boat in distress somewhere off Cyprus’ southern coast.

This prompted an angry response in which government officials stated that air and sea assets had been dispatched in a search effort covering an area of 1,000 nautical miles without any results.

In a joint statement, the ministers of justice, defense and migration said there’s nothing so far to suggest that the Alarm Phone warning concerned the sunken boat on which the two rescued men were aboard.

“It’s unacceptable for the Cyprus Republic to stand accused of violating human rights,” the ministers said. “the Cyprus Republic has never ignored an appeal for help or a message concerning a search and rescue operation and takes all necessary actions in line with the law.”