The European Parliament has taken a historic decision by overwhelmingly approving a resolution from the FEMM Committee (Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality) recognizing Cypriot women and girls as victims of crimes committed during the 1974 Turkish invasion.

The resolution, sponsored by New Democracy and European People’s Party (EPP) MEP Eleonora Meleti, was adopted with 575 votes in favor and only 33 against, marking a decision of significant historical and political importance.

The European Parliament’s decision follows a study and fact-finding mission conducted by the FEMM Committee in Cyprus, during which testimonies were collected from women who had suffered sexual violence and the lasting consequences of war crimes. Their experiences played a crucial role in highlighting an issue that, as noted, had remained largely absent from the official European historical narrative for more than five decades.

The resolution condemns the Turkish invasion and continued occupation, recognizes sexual violence as a weapon of war, and calls for the full acknowledgment and restoration of the rights of victims. It also calls for compensation, greater support for survivors, and for Turkey to assume responsibility in accordance with international law.

Addressing the plenary session in Strasbourg, Eleonora Meleti moved lawmakers by recounting the testimonies of the women she met during the FEMM Committee’s mission to Cyprus. “We made a promise that the pain of these women—the collective trauma of the Cypriot people—would remain neither unspoken nor invisible. Because their rape did not end then. It continued through stigma, isolation, marginalization, rejection, and loneliness.”

Today’s vote represents a major political and moral acknowledgment of the suffering endured by the women of Cyprus, as well as a significant parliamentary achievement for Eleonora Meleti. It marks the first time that this often-overlooked aspect of the Cypriot tragedy has been brought to the forefront of the European agenda, securing broad support within the European Parliament for recognition, remembrance, and justice.