Civil Registry and Children’s Commissioner drove ID parent-name removal, minister says

Local childrenTop News Civil Registry and Children’s Commissioner drove ID parent-name removal, minister says Tautotita 1 1 1068x549 1 Relevant News Civil Registry and Children’s Commissioner drove ID parent-name removal, minister says 17 September 2026 Christodoulides to address UN General Assembly, meet Guterres during New York visit 17 September 2026 ‘Europe and Canada are stronger together’: Carney pushes for deeper EU alliance 17 September 2026 newsroom 17 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Cyprus’s Interior Minister has pointed to the Civil Registry and the Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights, and to a lesser extent the police, as the parties behind the decision to remove parents’ details from children’s identity cards. The issue had recently drawn public attention. Responding to a question from DIKO Paphos MP Chrysanthos Savvides, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said the decision not to include parents’ full names on identity cards was taken under Article 63(2) of the Civil Registry Law, which gives the Director-General authority over the form, type, design and other details of the identity card. The decision was made as part of the contract for developing an integrated solution for issuing passports, identity cards and residence permits. It followed consideration of the recommendations of the Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights. The Commissioner had, since 2017, called on the Interior Ministry, through letters and memoranda to the ministry and to the House of Representatives, to consider removing parents’ details from children’s identity cards, in order to safeguard the Principle of the Best Interests of the Child and the Principle of Non-Discrimination as set out in the relevant UN Convention. In its letters and memoranda, the Commissioner had highlighted the potential discrimination faced by children of unknown paternity. The issue was examined on the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee’s own initiative in 2018 and 2022. According to Ioannou, the Interior Ministry, while designing the new identity cards, examined the questions raised at the time for discussion, specifically whether there was a genuine need to include parents’ full names, whether omitting them would create any problem, whether European directives govern the matter, whether there was any technical obstacle to their removal, and what practice other member states follow. The ministry’s investigation produced three main findings. First, the identity card is an administrative document issued by the state for the purpose of identifying its holder. Under the current European Regulation 2025/1208, and the related manuals of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) that the regulation references, the personal details that must be included to verify the holder’s own identity are a photograph, first name, surname, date of birth, nationality, sex, signature and personal number. Parents’ full names are not among these mandatory details, nor are they explicitly listed among the optional details. It is therefore for each member state to decide which optional details to include. At present, seven member states include parents’ details on identity cards, whether their full names, first names only, the father’s surname, or only the mother’s name. Second, the Interior Ministry also asked the police for their view, since the matter touches on their responsibilities. The police, in a written response, raised no objection to the removal, given that they have access to the Civil Registry’s computerised system. Most state services are already connected to the Civil Registry System, the ministry noted, with more continuing to be connected. Third, on the technical side, removing parents’ full names was found to be feasible, since the new contract would in any case involve a fresh design and the development of new software. Ioannou said that, after evaluating all the relevant factors, including the usefulness of the details shown on identity cards, privacy protection, personal data protection, avoiding discrimination, and the practices followed in other member states, it was decided that parents’ full names would no longer be included. The new identity cards entered circulation on July 2, 2026. For information, Ioannou added, as has already been publicly announced, the Interior Ministry has decided to allow citizens themselves (or parents and guardians, in the case of a minor) to choose whether or not to have parents’ full names included on the identity card, and is awaiting an implementation timeline from the contracted company. 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