Interior ministry defends decision to drop parents’ names from ID cards

Local Top News Interior ministry defends decision to drop parents’ names from ID cards Interior Minister Ioannou Relevant News Interior ministry defends decision to drop parents’ names from ID cards 29 July 2026 Larnaca businessman remanded over €12m property fraud claims 29 July 2026 Large fire breaks out in Paphos farmland, firefighters battling strong winds 29 July 2026 newsroom 29 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The Interior Ministry defended its decision to leave parents’ names off new biometric identity cards, responding to several days of public debate over the change, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. The ministry said the Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights first raised the issue in 2012, warning that a dash printed next to the father’s name field discriminated against, marginalised and stigmatised children of unknown fathers or children born to single mothers. The ministry noted that, following the Commissioner’s intervention, the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee discussed the issue in both 2020 and 2022. A majority of MPs and political parties, including DISY, had backed removing parents’ details from identity cards at the time, the ministry said. DISY reversed that position on Wednesday, issuing a statement disagreeing with the change, the ministry added. The ministry said that, during those discussions, the House of Representatives had urged it to examine removing parents’ details, but this was not possible in 2022 under the Convention then in force. The ministry stated it had committed to evaluating the proposal as part of planning for a new Convention on issuing identity cards and passports in 2025. The ministry said it decided to exclude parents’ details under the new Convention based on four factors: the Commissioner’s positions; the views of the majority of parliamentary parties and MPs; the practice in European Union member states, most of which do not include such details; and European Regulation 2025/1208 and International Civil Aviation Organisation manuals, which the ministry said state that “parents’ full names are not among the mandatory details required on identity cards.” The ministry clarified that an identity card identifies its holder, and must mandatorily record the personal details that identify that person. It added that parents’ details do not appear on passports either, and stressed that birth certificates remain the primary document for identifying and proving parentage. It added that most EU countries follow the same approach, listing only the holder’s own name, photo, date of birth, nationality, document number and required biometric features on identity cards, with parental details instead drawn from birth certificates or national population registers. The practice extends to passports across the bloc as well. The ministry said it remains available to discuss the matter if political parties’ positions have changed, and stated it would review the decision and, if feasible, revise the terms of the new Convention on issuing identity cards and passports. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Larnaca businessman remanded over €12m property fraud claims Large fire breaks out in Paphos farmland, firefighters battling strong winds Half of businesses breach new tax rules, inspections find Cross-party backing for Cyprus’s apartheid state Cyprus hunting season kicks off August 23 under new digital rules Christodoulides welcomes Guterres’s effort to restart Cyprus talks Guterres commits to fresh five-plus-one meeting after Cyprus visit Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.