Erhurman says children’s rights should not be tied to political conditions

Rizokarpaso, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has described issues affecting children of mixed marriages, Maronite children and pupils at the Greek Cypriot school in Rizokarpaso as human rights matters. He said they should neither be politically exploited nor made dependent on political conditions.

Obstacles facing children and young people

In a social media post, Erhurman said all three issues were high on his agenda and that efforts were under way to resolve them gradually without turning them into matters of public confrontation.

He said associations, families and athletes approached the Turkish Cypriot leadership daily with complaints about serious obstacles arising from their parents’ origin or place of birth.

These included “loss of scholarships, inability to obtain visas or being prohibited from participating in international competitions”, he said.

Erhurman said on Friday that he was prioritising what he described as rights violations because every day that passed could have irreversible consequences for young people.

Confidence-building measures

Erhurman said that when the Greek Cypriot side raised problems faced by pupils at the school in Karpasia, he did not impose political conditions or demand recognition, as “we are talking about children”.

He added that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had included the issue among seven confidence-building measures without imposing conditions.

Erhurman has repeatedly raised the seven issues in recent weeks, saying Guterres had called for progress on crossing points, mine clearance, citizenship for children of mixed marriages, sports, joint disaster response, irregular migration and a civil society mechanism.

Government position on citizenship

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Wednesday that granting Republic of Cyprus citizenship to children of mixed marriages could not be considered a confidence-building measure.

He said the matter was governed by fundamental legal provisions and also touched on EU status.

Applications were currently being examined according to established criteria, he said, adding that their examination had resumed in 2024 under the present government.