Platform Organizations

Queer Cyprus Society

Queer Cyprus is a civil society movement that started off as “Initiative Against Homophobia” in 2008 in order to change discriminatory law in the north part of Cyprus and to mold public opinion in regards to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex rights and freedom. The movement, which was renamed Queer Cyprus in 2012, fights for a world in which individuals do not face discrimination based on their language, religious belief, color, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual expression, age or ethnicity. Therefore, the Queer Cyprus movement embraces diversity, opposes all mechanisms of pressure and has a feminist, antimilitarist, ecologist and veganist nature.

Mülteci Hakları Derneği

Refugee Rights Association (RRA) was established in 2009 to work against the shortcomings and violations regarding the right to asylum in the northern part of Cyprus and to provide legal and social support for refugees. Over time we extended our activities to include efforts to combat human trafficking and racism. Our vision: A united Cyprus free from racial discrimination in which human rights of those forcibly displaced are respected. Our Mission: To work against the shortcomings and violations regarding the right to asylum in the northern part of Cyprus, to provide legal and social support to refugees and victims of human trafficking, and to make efforts to combat human trafficking and racism. Refugee Right Association working on ,raising awareness on rights of refugees in northern part of Cyprus, to conduct trainings, research and reporting and advocacy for legal change. Also providing legal and social assistance to refugees and victims of trafficking, ensuring solidarity between Turkish Cypriot community and the refugees, collecting, distributing financial and material donations, conducting activities to combat racism and human trafficking.

The Civil Society Initiative

The Civil Society Initiative (SiTi) was formed in 2019 by a group of civil society activists who were actively involved in different thematic areas of the civil society in the northern part of Cyprus. Believing in collaborated efforts and aiming towards democratic governance; activists were focused on challenging betterment of the conditions of the civic field. The initiative was legally established as a registered civil society organization in November 2020 and continues its activities as the Civil Society Initiative Association. SiTi is a rights-based organization which acts in line with the international human rights treaties. The Association aims to develop data-based, effective, and transformative policies and coordinated advocacy in collaboration with other civil society organizations, striving to contribute towards a democratic, pluralistic and constantly developing civil society where it is protected by mechanisms and takes an active part in decision-making mechanisms in the northern part of Cyprus.

The Third Community Forum

The Third Community Forum established on 18th of January 2020. The Third Community Forum is a civil society organisation that works on establishment of a federal state in Cyprus. A federal state that embraces all ethnic groups and individuals, and respects individual rights and freedoms. Fruther more, the Forum rejects the notion that it is our fate to live in a dystopia created by nationalism and invites all Cypriots to create a “Common Fate” in an effort to build a different future. The Third Community Forum believes that peace in Cyprus can only be achieved through the mutual restitution of and respect for the rights of the people of Cyprus. Therefore, separately and disconnectedly fighting within our own separate ethnic groups is not sufficient to prevent permanent partition and achieve lasting . It is essential that “we” – a new “we” - fight against nationalism and partition. The “Third Community,” lies outside the two communities, who are entrapped in ethnic identities. It is comprised of transnational Cypriots, who want to create a new country based on mutual respect and equality, and to participate in a common public space. It works for a modern, democratic, pluralistic, secular Federal Cyprus. It acts with a patriotism that is based on a sense of common homeland. It believes in a patriotism that is culturally and ethnically not exclusionist, but one that is inclusive and constitutional.