A/HRC/34/56/Add.1 39. Cypriots must come together to produce joint documentation of all the destruction that has taken place and to write the history of all the heritage that has been destroyed. That critical task could be performed through a truth commission representative of the diversity of the population of Cyprus. The purpose would be to gather and complete existing documentation, assemble narratives of the losses for all and begin writing a common history, with a view to redressing violations of cultural rights as part of any settlement or thereafter. 40. The destruction of cultural heritage has created huge impediments to the exercise of the right to access and enjoy cultural heritage, and jeopardizes the rights of future generations. Some of the heritage can no longer serve as sources of knowledge and mutual understanding, as places to conduct rituals and cultural practices, or as venues for social interaction or building friendships across groups, irrespective of affiliation. 41. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that one purpose of the patterns of destruction has been to deprive displaced people of anything to which they could return, as well as to erase the history of their presence and claim a monopoly or monolithic identity in particular locales. Displaced people on both sides of the island expressed to the Special Rapporteur their desire to see their heritage restored as a prelude to their ability to return to their former homes, or at least to re-establish relationships with their places of origin. 42. Many cultural heritage sites that the Special Rapporteur visited had been restored or were undergoing restoration. She also visited and was informed of sites that were in a terrible condition, as is the case for many abandoned churches and mosques that are neglected and left exposed to vandalism. She also visited other sites that need further protection, such as the archaeological site of Ayia Trias/Sipahi Basilica/Bazilikasi in the north. For a long time left without any care and exposed to damage from livestock, the site is now guarded and there are projects to protect better the mosaics and remaining structures of this fifth-century site. (b) Devastating effects of looting on cultural rights 43. An important related issue concerns the looting of artefacts. Sacred objects, icons and frescoes have been removed illegally from abandoned churches in the north and sold on the international market. Looting has been widespread and systematically organized, causing much suffering to people who have seen their churches, museums and archaeological sites completely plundered. 44. The Special Rapporteur salutes the work undertaken by the Department of Antiquities in monitoring the auctions carried out abroad and on the Internet, and their dedication in repatriating items. The legal difficulties, administrative challenges and costs linked with locating and repatriating artefacts are huge. It is difficult, for example, to prove the exact provenance of the items, as archives have been lost or destroyed during looting and as not all items had been registered. Although experts are able to identify cultural heritage of Cyprus, thanks to the specific techniques employed to create the artworks, they are in many cases unable to identify their exact original location, such as specific churches or museums. The Aydin Dikmen case exemplifies these obstacles.11 45. The Special Rapporteur also notes information alleging that unregistered collections have been found in the hands of private collectors in the south of the island and abroad.12 (c) Changing of cultural landscapes 46. The destruction of cultural heritage has considerably changed the symbolic, historical and cultural landscape in all areas of Cyprus. An additional effort to alter the landscape is the systematic changing of the names of places, streets and villages in the north. Some argue that such changes are part of a nationalistic campaign of ethnic cleansing against Greek Cypriots. 11 12 See cyprus-mail.com/2015/03/16/cyprus-loses-fight-for-ancient-artefacts. See cyprus-mail.com/2016/11/12/cyprus-police-coordinated-europe-wide-pandora-operation-huntmissing-antiquities. 9