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| Turkish troops invading Cyprus in the summer of 1974 |
On May 22, 2016, the Greek Cypriots in the independent south of Cyprus will go to the polls, with the issue of the reunification of the island heavily weighing on their minds. Northern Cyprus remains under Turkish occupation since 1974.
The preamble of the United Nations (UN) Charter states: “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war... to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law... our respective Governments... have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations (UN).” The purpose of the UN, as expressed in its Charter is: “To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes.” To achieve this purpose, “all Members shall refrain ... from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.” In the event that international law, as expressed in the UN Charter, has been breached the UN Security Council is empowered to decide on measures “to be employed to give effect to its decisions.”
