New law covers institutional care for parents and spouses of missing persons

Nicosia, Cyprus. A new law covers institutional care for parents and spouses of missing persons, presidential commissioner Marios Hartsiotis said on Tuesday. He told MPs on the House refugee committee that a “small gap” remained in institutional care but was moving towards immediate resolution.

Care eligibility expanded

Speaking after the committee meeting, Hartsiotis said the legislation, passed in June, eliminated financial criteria for home care, allowing all parents and spouses of missing persons to benefit.

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House refugee committee chairman and Akel MP Nikos Kettiros described the change as a positive development.

Assistance for those affected by the invasion

Hartsiotis said the government was also demonstrating the necessary sensitivity towards women and men who suffered abuse during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, as well as prisoners and those wounded.

The state was calculating the cost of the assistance to be provided, he said, stressing that this was “not to negate” the need for care.

“The least the state can do is to finally attribute – 52 years later – what is self-evident,” he said.

Registry to establish beneficiary numbers

Hartsiotis said approximately 1,700 children of missing persons were alive today, alongside 700 people who were either enclaved in the occupied north or had chosen to resettle there.

Efforts were underway to compile a registry to establish the exact number of beneficiaries and calculate the cost to be budgeted.

“We are moving forward with determination on these very sensitive and delicate issues, so as to resolve them in the best possible way,” he said.