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Should a child’s access to citizenship be part of a political negotiation or a right that should already be protected?
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has put that question at the center of the debate over citizenship for children of mixed marriages, describing their situation as a human rights issue rather than a matter for confidence-building measures.
In a social media post Thursday afternoon, Erhurman responded to government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis, who said the issue falls outside the scope of those measures.
Erhurman agreed with that distinction but argued that the reason was fundamental: in his view, the issue concerns children’s rights and protection against discrimination.
“This is a matter of human rights, a matter of prohibiting discrimination,” he wrote.
The dispute concerns access to Republic of Cyprus citizenship and, through it, EU citizenship for children of mixed marriages involving Turkish Cypriots. For affected families, that status can shape their children’s opportunities to study, work,, and move within the European Union.
Erhurman said the issue was nevertheless included among seven confidence-building measures raised by the U.N. secretary-general in Nicosia. Resolving what he described as an ongoing rights violation, he argued, would also help build trust.
His position draws a distinction between the obligation he believes exists and the political benefit of acting on it: protecting children’s rights should stand on its own, even if doing so improves relations between the two communities.
The remarks provided do not explain the government’s position on individual citizenship applications or its response to the discrimination allegation.
But Erhurman’s challenge is clear: while politicians debate which negotiating category the issue belongs in, affected families are waiting for an answer about their children’s future.
