Elena Perikleous, the Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights, has issued a strong response to ELAM in a multi-page statement, regarding the incident in which an 11-year-old girl was beaten by her classmates at an elementary school in the Nicosia district.
Among other things, Commissioner Perikleous notes that the party divides children based on their ethnic and religious backgrounds, while also addressing issues of scapegoating, stigmatization, and xenophobia.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Read the full statement:
Public Statement by the Commissioner for the Protection of Children’s Rights on Combating School Violence and Condemning Xenophobic Targeting of Children
Every child has the inalienable right to grow up, learn, and develop in a safe environment, free from fear, violence, and any form of humiliation. The increasingly frequent incidents of violence among children, most recently the beating of a child by his classmates on school grounds, are a cause for deep concern and demand our unequivocal condemnation. The protection of the child who suffered the violence, an immediate and thorough investigation of the incident, and the implementation of effective measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents are non-negotiable priorities.
The need, however, to deal decisively with every incident of violence cannot serve as a pretext for the collective targeting of children based on their national or immigrant background, religion, or language. No child can be held responsible for the actions of other children simply because they share any of these characteristics. Nor should the condemnation of a violent act lead to the denial of other children’s right to belong equally to the school community and to participate without discrimination in social life. The division of children into “our own” and “others” introduces an unacceptable logic of selective protection, which runs counter to the principle of non-discrimination enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The safety and dignity of a child who has suffered violence are not safeguarded by targeting, stigmatizing, or excluding other children.
In this context, the content of a parliamentary party’s statement dated November 4, 2026, is particularly concerning, as it includes statements such as: “the consequences of illegal immigration in schools are evident,” “their culture threatens our own,” and “they cannot integrate into our society.” These statements are not limited to condemning a specific act of violence. Rather, they attribute common cultural characteristics to an extremely heterogeneous population group, whose members come from different countries, societies, and cultural backgrounds, with different languages, religions, beliefs, and life experiences. In fact, they portray this fabricated “unified” culture as a threat to the host society and its members as incapable of integrating into it. Linking an isolated incident of violence to the broader phenomenon of migration shifts the blame from specific individuals to an entire population group, fostering collective guilt and reinforcing social stigmatization and xenophobia.
At the same time, this announcement indiscriminately links children’s migration histories to illegal immigration, ignoring the diversity of family, social, and other circumstances in which children with a migrant background grow up. Among them are children with one Cypriot parent or from mixed families, children of parents who reside and work legally in Cyprus, including foreign investors, as well as children who are asylum seekers, refugees, or unaccompanied minors. Equating different family and legal pathways with illegal immigration is misleading and stigmatizing. Even when a child does not have legal residency status, however, he or she remains a child. Their protection and rights cannot be made contingent on their origin or immigration status.
The political exploitation of incidents of school violence, through generalizations and collective attributions of blame, is reprehensible and does not contribute to effectively addressing these issues. Statements of this nature and content go beyond the bounds of criticism of immigration policy and raise serious issues of hate speech, especially when accompanied by categorical statements such as that children with a migrant background “cannot integrate.” Not only do these statements fail to contribute to the development of proposals and solutions for integration, but they also predetermine an irrevocable exclusion for children with a migrant background. Parliamentary parties and individuals participating in public discourse bear an increased responsibility to condemn violence without legitimizing stigmatization and exclusion.
At the same time, incidents of violence among children are taking on the dimensions of a broader phenomenon, as demonstrated by data from the Annual Report of the Safe Schools Group (OAS): during the 2024–2025 school year, 510 incidents of violence were recorded across 98 schools, representing just 13.19% of all schools. These incidents also include cases involving children of indigenous descent. Of particular significance is also the recording of 53 racist incidents in the Safe School Group’s online tool for the 2024–2025 school year. In 14 of these cases, national or ethnic origin is cited as the criterion for targeting. The same report notes, citing the Ministry of Education’s annual report on anti-racism policy, that skin color and ethnicity were the two most common criteria for manifestations of racist behavior. For the government and public discourse, these findings highlight the need to address racist targeting as part of protecting children from violence, rather than perpetuating the divisions that sustain it. Furthermore, these data make it even more imperative for the government and relevant institutions to focus on identifying and understanding the multifactorial causes of violence, on its prevention, and on effectively addressing it. The discussion on the causes of and responses to violence must be based on documented empirical data and not on generalizations that stereotypically attribute collective responsibility to groups of children.
To address incidents of school violence, it should be noted that the State has already established specific procedures and mechanisms covering violence both inside and outside of school. These procedures must be activated immediately and implemented effectively, ensuring the protection, support, and rehabilitation of both children who are victims of violence and those who perpetrate it. Interventions for children who commit acts of violence must combine support for them with accountability and the prevention of such behavior from recurring.
The State’s responsibility, however, is not limited to handling incidents as they occur. Prevention must be the top priority, so as to prevent violence from occurring in the first place, rather than merely addressing its consequences. Systematic investment is therefore required in the early identification of risks and in coordinated actions, with the cooperation of schools, families, the community, and relevant agencies. The media can also play a vital role in this process by providing responsible reporting and avoiding the perpetuation of stereotypes and stigmatizing generalizations.
The essence of the public dialogue must be clear: school violence is a complex phenomenon that requires a systemic, multi-level, and interdisciplinary approach, with early intervention and individualized support. In particular, those who participate in the public dialogue because of their institutional role and who genuinely seek to contribute to finding solutions must focus on the multifactorial causes of violence, on prevention, and on the effective protection of the rights of all children. Ensuring these rights requires the protection of children who are victims of violence, appropriate intervention, support, and guidance for children who perpetrate violence, as well as the protection of those at risk of being targeted or excluded. The protection of every child’s rights must serve as a constant point of reference in every intervention and every public statement regarding school violence, without discrimination, exclusion, or collective blame.
What ELAM Said
In a statement dated November 4, 2026, ELAM condemns “in the strongest possible terms the unacceptable beating of an elementary schoolgirl by foreign students” and notes that “unfortunately, these tragic events are yet another striking example of the consequences of illegal immigration and confirm our long-standing warnings.”
“The consequences of illegal immigration in schools are evident. Their culture threatens our own. They cannot integrate into our society. Such acts must not be tolerated by anyone. This is about our children and their safety. We demand that the authorities take all necessary steps to fully investigate this tragic incident. Zero tolerance for violence against minors. Put a definitive end to illegal immigration. We’ve already waited too long.”
