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Cyprus RightsThe Republic of Cyprus claims the whole island, and owes every right that claim implies to every Cypriot. Cyprus Rights documents where that duty goes unmet for Turkish Cypriots — with sources.

Work and pension · Employment discrimination

Public-service recruitment access

Report card / Work and pension / Employment discrimination

Living in the southLargely withheld25/100

In 2026 CERD said Greek-language proficiency tests for jobs may discriminate against Turkish Cypriots in practice. In a separate Equality Body inquiry, the state scholarship foundation's own chairman wrote that publishing announcements only in Greek is the standing practice of most ministries. The Republic's delegation told CERD that exams are open to all candidates and that foreign-service exam papers exist in both Greek and Turkish — the state's own stated position. How many Turkish Cypriots the public service employs is still unpublished.1234

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC and their Cypriot implementing legislation; ICERD Article 5(e)(i)

Sources for this criterion

  1. 1. CERD/C/CYP/CO/25 — Concluding observations on the twenty-fifth periodic report of CyprusA — primary / documentary · UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination · 2026-05-28
  2. 2. Equality Body report on IKYK scholarship announcements published only in Greek (files A/P 852/2021 et al.)A — primary / documentary · Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Equality Body) · 2023-12-28
  3. 3. Meeting summary of the CERD 117th-session review of the twenty-fifth periodic report of Cyprus (CERD/C/CYP/25), public meeting of 17 April 2026A — primary / documentary · Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights · 2026-04-17
  4. 4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open source · Cyprus Rights · 2026-08-24

Status stalledWeight 3/5Score 25

Sources

  1. CERD/C/CYP/CO/25 — Concluding observations on the twenty-fifth periodic report of CyprusA — primary / documentaryUN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination · 2026-05-28The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's concluding observations on the twenty-fifth periodic report of Cyprus.Concluding observations on the twenty-fifth periodic report of Cyprus, CERD/C/CYP/CO/25, adopted at the 3217th meeting on 27 April 2026, issued 28 May 2026 (paras 27-29 on Turkish Cypriots)https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CERD/C/CYP/CO/25
  2. Equality Body report on IKYK scholarship announcements published only in Greek (files A/P 852/2021 et al.)A — primary / documentaryCommissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Equality Body) · 2023-12-28A report by Cyprus's Equality Body (the Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights) on complaint files concerning IKYK scholarship announcements published only in Greek.Equality Body report, files A/P 852/2021, A/P 2400/2021, A/P 418/2022, A/P 2362/2022 (dated 28 December 2023 per EELN citation) — documents a 2022 scholarship rejection citing an unrecognised institution among its grounds, and the IKYK chairman's statement that Greek-only publication is the standing practice of most ministrieshttps://www.ombudsman.gov.cy/ombudsman/ombudsman.nsf/All/4263D5E84B7AFE2BC2258AB300270C8B/$file/%CE%91%CE%A0%20852.21,%20%20%CE%91%CE%A0%202400.21,%20%20%CE%91%CE%A0%20418.22,%20%20%CE%91%CE%A0%202362.22.pdf?OpenElement
  3. Meeting summary of the CERD 117th-session review of the twenty-fifth periodic report of Cyprus (CERD/C/CYP/25), public meeting of 17 April 2026A — primary / documentaryOffice of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights · 2026-04-17An OHCHR meeting summary of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's public review, at its 117th session, of Cyprus's twenty-fifth periodic report.OHCHR meeting summary, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 117th session (13 April – 1 May 2026), public meeting of 17 April 2026 on CERD/C/CYP/25. A secretariat summary of oral exchanges; the Committee's concluding observations (expected symbol CERD/C/CYP/CO/25) had not been retrieved by Cyprus Rights at the date of assessmenthttps://www.ohchr.org/en/meeting-summaries/2026/04/experts-committee-elimination-racial-discrimination-commend-cyprus
  4. Turkish Cypriot Rights Issue Register and Legal Framework Register (Cyprus Rights reference corpus)D — open sourceCyprus Rights · 2026-08-24Cyprus Rights' own internal reference corpus of registers tracking Turkish Cypriot rights issues and the applicable legal framework.Cyprus Rights reference corpus, compiled 24 August 2026: internal/reference/rights-issue-register-turkish-cypriot.md and internal/reference/legal-framework-register.md. Cited for duty-bearer positions as the registers record them and for documentation-gap statements; each register entry carries its own underlying sources