The governance and local Integration of migrants and Europe's refugees: Cyprus

Abstract

The integration of migrants and refugees is a major challenge in Cyprus. It's an area which remains under-researched with respect to the difficulties faced by migrants in general and migrant women in particular. Literature on the subject is relatively limited, focusing far more often on economic migrants, rather than refugees. Considering the relatively high number of 'low-skilled' migrants in Cyprus and despite the efforts undertaken by Cyprus to harmonise its legislation with the European Union acquis, a number of issues remain unaddressed with regards to the effects and impact of immigration on the island's political, social and economic spheres. The current migration model which has been developed without consultation with groups representing migrants refugees or women, is considered outdated and not effective in addressing the needs of Cypriot society on one side and the migrants themselves om the other. The predominant focus of the government since 1990 has been to preserve the Cypriot national identity from the 'other', a term which includes often marginalised groups such as migrants, refugees and women who do not conform to patriarchal notions of womanhood. The government's approach has led to the segregation and ostracism of certain groups from society, and it is crucial now more than ever, that a comprehensive integration policy is developed which also takes into consideration the gender aspect in the course of its design and implementation. This would require the government to undertake a thorough assessment of all social, economic and budgetary policies from a gender perspective so as to ensure that future policy reflects all social groups and respects the full gamut of human rights. This country report aims to present the development of national integration policies in the areas of urban regeneration, education and the labour market, focusing especially on whether gender has been impacted and mainstreamed. For the purposes of this report it should be noted that in the definition of migrants we ...