UN racial discrimination committee questions Cyprus on Turkish language use and citizenship for children of mixed marriages

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination considered Cyprus's twenty-fifth periodic report (CERD/C/CYP/25) at its 117th session, held from 13 April to 1 May 2026, with the public meeting on Cyprus on 17 April 2026.¹

On language, Committee expert Chrispine Gwalawala Sibande stated that Turkish was an official language but that its use remained extremely limited, and that public service job announcements were published only in Greek. The delegation replied that both Greek and Turkish hold official status, that government websites provide information in Greek, Turkish and English, that examination papers for foreign service positions are provided in both languages, and that free language courses are offered to members of both communities.¹

On citizenship, Committee experts raised obstacles to citizenship for children of mixed marriages and referred to a Constitutional Court rejection concerning a person born in Cyprus in 1978. The delegation replied that the law does not discriminate on grounds of gender or parental nationality except in cases involving illegal entry or stay.¹

These exchanges are recorded in the OHCHR meeting summary — a secretariat summary of oral proceedings, not the Committee's authoritative finding. The Committee's concluding observations on the twenty-fifth report, expected under the symbol CERD/C/CYP/CO/25 and adopted at the close of the session on 1 May 2026, had not been retrieved by Cyprus Rights at the time of writing.¹