Although hate crime and hate speech remain relatively rare in Cyprus, the general climate of tolerance and respect has deteriorated in recent years, the Council of Europe said on Friday.

It noted “reports of racially motivated verbal abuse and physical attacks by right-wing extremists and neo-Nazi groups against refugees and other migrants from outside Europe, particularly those of African descent and from Syria, as well as against human rights defenders.”

In its sixth opinion on Cyprus, issued on July 25 and made it public on Friday, the Council of Europe says Cyprus is committed to protecting the rights of minorities, particularly the Armenians, Latins and Maronites, but called for renewed efforts to address challenges in education, integration and combatting discrimination, making special reference to the Roma.

It said that although these three communities are “an integral and valued” part of Cypriot society, “access to minority rights of Cyprus Roma continues to be very limited.”

The territorial scope of the Framework Convention remains unchanged, it added, with discussions ongoing regarding measures to facilitate movement between the south and the north.

The Council of Europe noted that “Cyprus is an ever more diverse society, with 20 per cent of the total population being citizens of other states.”

It added that the Constitution, based on a bi-communal system, requires all citizens to belong to either the Greek Cypriot or Turkish Cypriot community in order to exercise civic duties and political rights.

It adds that “this constitutional arrangement does not take sufficient account of the diversity of Cypriot society and continues to interfere with the rights of individuals, in particular women and children, whose right to free self-identification is constitutionally even more limited.”

“Armenians and Maronites continue to be referred to as ‘religious groups’, which is too restrictive considering that their distinctive identities extend beyond their religious affiliations, and encompass linguistic, cultural and historical aspects. Gurbeti Roma continue to be exclusively attached to the Turkish Cypriot community and their distinctive identity is not legally recognised.”

The opinion also says that Turkish speakers “find it difficult to use their first language although it is one of the two official languages in the Republic of Cyprus”.

The appointment in October 2024 of a coordinator for religious groups within the presidential commissioner’s office was welcomed, but the post lacks a clear mandate and adequate funding, the report said.

The ombudsman’s office, which acts as an equality body, receives relatively few complaints, a figure that “may not correspond to the actual number of alleged discriminatory acts.”

Regarding parliamentary representation, members of the Armenian, Latin and Maronite religious groups cannot vote, and the report describes the coordinator’s appointment as an opportunity to strengthen engagement with authorities and broaden participation in decision-making.

While the Council of Europe welcomed state support for cultural projects of the three recognised religious groups, it noted that this support does not extend to Gurbeti Roma.

It said that although measures have been introduced to promote knowledge about the religious groups, more must be done to raise awareness among school pupils, and that teaching in and of minority languages remains insufficient.

The Council of Europe also points out that people belonging to the Armenian, Latin and Maronite religious groups take an active part in social, economic and political life, however the Gurbeti Roma continue to experience difficult living conditions.

Among its priority recommendations, the Council of Europe called for the coordinator to be formally appointed without further delay.

It also urged the authorities to address the shortage of trained language teachers for Armenian and Cypriot Maronite Arabic, and to ensure the creation of chairs of Armenian and Maronite studies at the University of Cyprus.

In addition, the authorities were asked to publish the 2021 census data on Cyprus Roma, disaggregated by ethnicity, religion and language.

The report further called for immediate training for police officers, prosecutors and judges on how best to use legal provisions to combat hate crime and hate speech and to ensure proper investigation of complaints.

Other recommendations included collecting detailed data on the Gurbeti Roma, increasing the frequency and duration of Cypriot Maronite Arabic classes at primary schools and extending them to secondary schools, and ensuring that Armenians and Maronites are automatically placed on the electoral rolls for the election of their representatives in the House of Representatives without requiring additional documentation.