Equal treatment and any form of gender discrimination in the Republic of Cyprus is safeguarded by virtue of Article 28 of the Constitution. In addition, Cyprus has ratified all international and regional (European) human rights treaties that address gender equality.
Specific institutions have been established which promote policies and research in the field of gender equality. For example, the main goal of the National Machinery for Women’s Rights (NMWR), which functions in the structures of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, is the promotion of gender equality in Cyprus. It consists of representatives of the major women’s organisations, trade unions and government departments. Furthermore, the Cyprus Research Centre (EKIF) was officially registered in 2006 as a non‐profit NGO dedicated to the promotion of gender equality in all spheres of life and the elimination of discrimination against women; it is a partner of the UNESCO CHAIR in Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment established at the University of Cyprus in 2009. A Cyprus Gender Equality Observatory was set up in 2003 and plays an active role both with respect to women’s rights as well as with respect to providing support to all vulnerable groups, while the Gender Equality Committee in Employment and Vocational Training, which functions in the structures of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, has as its main role to monitor the application of Law (Equal Treatment of Women and Men in Employment and Vocational Training Law (Law 205(I)/2002). Also, the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) is a non-profit organisation which promotes and contributes to projects of social, political, and economic themes relating to gender with an emphasis on the Mediterranean region.
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