Presidential Commissioner

The Service for Humanitarian Affairs was established in the summer of 1974, shortly after the Turkish invasion, to help address and deal with the many humanitarian problems caused to a large part of the population by the Turkish invasion and continuous occupation.

Initially, the Service was under the umbrella of the Office of the President of the Republic. From 1978 to 1985, when the Ministry of the Presidency was established, it became a part of that Ministry. By a decision of the Council of Ministers dated 17.12.1985 the Service was transferred to the Ministry of Justice.

Subsequently, pursuant to Law No. 17 of 1993 (Interim Provisions) the Service came directly under the President of the Republic, who then appointed a Presidential Commissioner dealing with the Missing, Enclaved, and other affected by the consequences of the Turkish invasion, citizens of the Republic.

The mission of the Service is to respond and deal with the problems of the enclaved, as well as to cooperate and coordinate the efforts to address the problems with other competent government agencies.

The Service also cooperates with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, the Cyprus Red Cross, and other organizations and agencies dealing with humanitarian problems and issues.

The Communities as well as the number of the Enclaved live at each Community (by January 2021), are the following:

Communities of the Enclaved	Number of people
Rizokarpaso	241
Ayia Triada	61
Ayios Andronikos	2
Ayios Therissos	2
Kormakitis	54
Karpashia	5
Total	365 (January 2021)

Brief historical background