Cyprus praised for its commitment to children's rights

Law Commissioner Louiza Christodoulidou Zannetou and the delegation that represented the Republic of Cyprus in the 90th Summit of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, returned with positive remarks from Geneva.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child concluded its fifth and sixth combined periodic report of Cyprus, with Committee Experts praising Cyprus’ Children’s Houses for child victims of abuse, and raising questions about measures in place to prevent school bullying and statelessness.

According to a press release issued by the Commissioner’s office, the UN Committee commended the establishment of Children’s Houses in Cyprus for child victims of abuse and welcomed the fact that children are allowed to testify outside of courtrooms. Also, the Cypriot delegation replied to questions about incidents of bullying based on ethnicity in schools, as well as the fact that children were unable to obtain nationality if either of their parents were staying in Cyprus illegally.

As noted in the summary of the meetings in Geneva, the delegation informed the Committee that the Republic of Cyprus has been preparing and enacting important legislation, thus strengthening the country’s child-friendly justice system, the rights of child victims, anti-bullying measures, sex education, migration, asylum, anti-trafficking, violence against women and girls and family violence. The delegation also addressed statelessness, saying that issues related to this bill’s compatibility with the Cypriot Constitution had arisen.

The Cypriot Law Commissioner said that the Committee’s review and concluding observations expected to be issued by June would contribute to further enhancing Cyprus’ implementation of the Convention.

The Committee Chair, on the other hand, said that the Committee had learned more about the situation of the rights of the child in Cyprus through the dialogue, and expressed hope that the recommendations by the Committee would contribute to further strengthening those rights. The Committee will issue concluding observations on the report of Cyprus at the end of its 90th session on 3 June.