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Disputes - international: hostilities in 1974 divided the island into
two de facto autonomous entities, the internationally recognized Cypriot
Government and a Turkish-Cypriot community (north Cyprus); the 1,000-strong UN
Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has served in Cyprus since 1964 and
maintains the buffer zone between north and south; on 1 May 2004, Cyprus entered
the European Union still divided, with the EU's body of legislation and
standards (acquis communitaire) suspended in the north
Refugees and internally displaced persons: IDPs: 210,000
(both Turkish and Greek Cypriots; many displaced for over 30 years) (2006)
Illicit drugs: minor transit point for heroin and hashish via air
routes and container traffic to Europe, especially from Lebanon and Turkey; some
cocaine transits as well; despite a strengthening of anti-money-laundering
legislation, remains vulnerable to money laundering; reporting of suspicious
transactions in offshore sector remains weak
Trafficing in persons: current situation: Cyprus is primarily a
destination country for a large number of women trafficked from Eastern and
Central Europe, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic for the purpose of
sexual exploitation; traffickers continued to fraudulently recruit victims for
work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste"
visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on
tourist or student visas; there were credible reports of female domestic workers
from India, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines forced to work excessively long hours
and denied proper compensation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Cyprus does not fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and failed to show evidence
of increasing efforts to address its serious trafficking for sexual exploitation
problem; however, it is making significant efforts to do so
This information comes from the CIA
World Factbook January 2008.
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