The Interior Ministry has outlined the background behind the decision to remove the names of parents from Cyprus' new biometric identity cards, following political criticism and public debate over the change.
At the same time, DISY, DIKO and DIPA have voiced support for allowing citizens to choose whether their parents' names appear on their ID cards, while ELAM is calling for their full reinstatement.
Long-running issue
According to the ministry, the matter was first raised in 2012 following interventions by the Commissioner for Children's Rights.
The commissioner argued that including parental details on identity cards could, in certain cases, lead to discrimination, marginalisation or stigmatisation of children.
Particular concern was expressed over cases involving children with an unknown father or children born to single mothers, where a dash appeared in place of a father's name on official documents.
The ministry stressed that the issue did not arise during the recent redesign of the identity cards but had been under discussion for many years.
Previous parliamentary discussions
The matter was examined by the House Human Rights Committee in discussions held in 2020 and 2022.
According to the ministry, a majority of MPs and political parties at the time supported removing parental information from identity cards and asked the government to examine implementation of the proposal.
The change could not be introduced immediately due to the terms of the existing contract governing the issuance of identity cards and passports and was revisited during preparation of the new contract.
The ministry said the final decision took into account the commissioner's recommendations, parliamentary discussions, practices in other EU member states and international standards for identification documents.
It also noted that parental names are not a mandatory requirement under EU rules.
According to the ministry, the primary purpose of an identity card is to identify its holder, while family relationships are verified through other official documents such as birth certificates.
Ministry open to dialogue
Despite defending the decision, the ministry says it remains open to discussions.
It stated that, if the positions of political parties have changed since the earlier consultations, the issue could be reconsidered and amendments to the relevant contract examined, where feasible.
Clash with DISY
The issue has prompted a disagreement between the ministry and DISY.
While the ministry suggested that DISY had previously supported removing the parental-name fields, the party accused the government of misinformation.
DISY pointed to a statement issued in May 2022, arguing that parents' names should be removable only by choice and under specific circumstances.
The party has since prepared a legislative proposal reflecting that position and accused the government of attempting to shift responsibility for what it described as a unilateral decision.
Support for choice
DIKO has also backed the idea of giving citizens a choice.
The party opposes the blanket removal of parents' names, arguing that their inclusion should remain the general rule while special family circumstances or privacy concerns could be addressed through targeted exemptions.
DIPA adopted a similar position, citing tradition, values and cultural heritage.
ELAM seeks full restoration
ELAM has taken a more hardline stance, calling for the mandatory return of parents' names to identity cards.
The party announced plans to submit legislation to parliament restoring the names of both the father and mother as compulsory fields on all identity cards.
