Savvidu: “Turkish Cypriot children face problems regarding citizenship application”

Greek Cypriot Ombudswoman Eliza Savvidu said that human rights are regularly violated in Cyprus, with the main issues being: domestic violence, police violence, and the rights of refugees. She added that the difficulties faced by Turkish Cypriot children during the citizenship application are human rights violations too.

She explained that investigations about the Turkish Cypriot children wishing to obtain citizenship are often delayed. She concluded that a more practical procedure ought to be implemented to confer citizenship to these people.

Stressing that in South Cyprus, human trafficking continues to be one of the most serious types of human rights violation, Savvidu said: “human trafficking is a crime which is continuously changing. It often involves sexual abuse, exploitation, sale of children for adoption purposes, organ trafficking, forced marriage, begging, and so on”.