HL Deb 21 February 2005 vol 669 c163WA
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the scope of Mr Benon V Sevan's role as special envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for issues related to missing persons in the Middle East; and whether those duties extend to the disappeared from both the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities during the 1974 coup against Archbishop Makarios by EOKA-B terrorists. [HL1349]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

We have been unable to establish what the scope of Mr Sevan's role is. His appointment in 1992 as special envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for issues related to missing persons in the Middle East was a personal appointment by the then Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

We are not aware that Mr Sevan's duties extended to the disappeared from the Turkish Cypriot or Greek Cypriot communities during the 1974 coup.