“recommended that Cyprus respect the right to nationality without discrimination and
ensure that no particular groups of non-citizens are discriminated against with regard to
access to naturalisation. CERD also requested the State party to include in its next periodic
report information on how nationality laws and regulations were applied to those who
were in the occupied territories.”11
10. The OHCHR Compilation Report also referred to the concluding observations of the Human
Rights Committee, which raised many concerns regarding the discrimination of Turkish
Cypriots in the Southern part of the island, as follows:
•
•
•
•
The Office of the Commissioner of Administration (the Ombudsman) does not have
Turkish-speaking staff and reports generated by the office are not published in Turkish12
The nationality laws of the Republic of Cyprus are applied “in a discriminatory manner in
relation to individuals from particular groups, particularly children of Turkish Cypriots
[…]”13
“certain restrictions on crossing the Green Line — notably the State party’s policy
concerning the passage of Turkish settlers and their descendants who were born in
occupied areas — unduly interfere with the enjoyment of the right to the freedom of
movement conferred upon all residents of the island by article 12 of the Covenant.”14
There are concerns about allegations that a significant number of Turkish Cypriots were
unable to vote during the European Parliament elections held on 25 May 2014 because
their correct residential addresses had not been entered in the Government’s database.15
11. Accordingly, the Human Rights Committee recommended that:
“The State party should take immediate steps to ensure Turkish Cypriots have the same
rights and obligations as all other Cypriot citizens, both in law and in fact, to vote and
stand for elections so as to be in full compliance with articles 25 and 26 of the Covenant”,16
and
“The State party should take adequate measures to ensure that the nationality laws are
applied indiscriminately on the basis of clearly defined criteria. It should ensure that
applicants have access to information concerning the requirements of citizenship and that
they receive a decision on their application for citizenship within a reasonable period of
time.”17
12. However, as set out in the Report of the Working Group, “the Government (of Cyprus) was not
in a position to ensure the application of human rights instruments in the area that was not
under its effective control.”18
11
Compilation of UN Information 2014, para. 68.
12
Ibid., para. 5.
13
Ibid., para. 6.
14
Ibid., para. 17.
15
Ibid., para. 22.
16
Ibid., para 6.
17
Ibid., para 22.
18
Report of the Working Group 2014, para 18.