Security Council Renews Mandate of United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2430 (2018)
The Security Council authorized a six‑month mandate renewal for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) today, and called upon the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities as well as all parties involved to commit fully to a settlement process, using United Nations consultations to restart negotiations.
Unanimously adopting resolution 2430 (2018), the Council decided to extend UNFICYP’s mandate until 31 January 2019, while noting the lack of progress towards a settlement since the August 2017 conclusion of the Conference on Cyprus in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. It urged the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leadership to seize the opportunity presented by the appointment of United Nations consultant Jane Holl Lute to conduct in‑depth talks on the way forward.
More specifically, the Council called, through the text, upon the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders to, among other things, improve the public atmosphere for negotiations to secure a settlement, including by focusing public messages on convergences and the way ahead, by delivering more constructive and harmonized messages, and by refraining from rhetoric that could make a successful process more difficult to accomplish. It also urged the implementation of confidence‑building measures, including the opening of crossing points already agreed, as well as the promotion of intercommunal contacts, exchange and cooperation.
The Council went on to request, by other terms of the text, that the Secretary‑General report on his good offices initiative and on the outcome of the United Nations consultant’s efforts by 15 October. It further requested that he report on implementation of today’s resolution, including progress on confidence‑building measures, by 10 January 2019.
On UNFICYP, the Council expressed support for the need to improve the liaison and engagement capacity of the Force, including people‑to‑people contacts, in order to foster conditions that would be conducive to progress on a settlement process. It also requested that the Secretary‑General increase the number of women in UNFICYP and to ensure their meaningful participation in all aspects of its work.
The meeting began at 10:08 a.m. and ended at 10:11 a.m.
Resolution
The full text of resolution 2430 (2018) reads as follows:
“The Security Council,
“Welcoming the report of the Secretary‑General of 14 June 2018 on his good offices (document S/2018/610) and of 6 July 2018 (document S/2018/676) on the United Nations operation in Cyprus,
“Noting that the Government of Cyprus is agreed that in view of the prevailing conditions on the island it is necessary to keep the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) beyond 31 July 2018,
“Echoing the Secretary‑General’s firm belief that the responsibility for finding a solution lies first and foremost with the Cypriots themselves, and reaffirming the primary role of the United Nations in assisting the parties to bring the Cyprus conflict and division of the island to a comprehensive and durable settlement,
“Welcoming the commitments set out in the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders’ joint statement of 2 April 2017 on the basis of the joint declaration adopted on 11 February 2014, the reconvening of the Conference on Cyprus under United Nations auspices in June 2017, further welcoming the participants’ commitment to support the process towards a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus, and the support provided by the Secretary‑General and the Secretary‑General’s Special Representative, Elizabeth Spehar,
“Recalling resolution 1179 (1998); and the importance attached by the international community to all parties engaging fully, flexibly and constructively in negotiations to secure a settlement and noting that last year’s Conference on Cyprus did not result in an enduring, comprehensive and just settlement based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, as set out in relevant Security Council resolutions, urging the sides to renew their commitment to such a settlement, and stressing that the status quo is unsustainable,
“Welcoming the appointment of United Nations consultant Jane Holl Lute, and urging the sides and all involved parties to demonstrate political will and engage constructively with United Nations consultations,
“Noting the need to advance the consideration of and discussions on military confidence‑building measures, calling for renewed efforts to implement all remaining confidence‑building measures, and for agreement on and implementation of further joint and unilateral steps to build trust between the communities, including new confidence‑building measures,
“Reaffirming the importance of continued crossings of the Green Line by Cypriots, and encouraging the opening by mutual agreement of other crossing points,
“Convinced of the many important benefits, including economic benefits for all Cypriots, that would flow from a comprehensive and durable Cyprus settlement, urging the two sides and their leaders to foster positive public rhetoric, and encouraging them clearly to explain the benefits of the settlement, as well as the need for increased flexibility and compromise in order to secure it, to both communities well in advance of any referenda,
“Highlighting the importance, both political and financial, of the supporting role of the international community, and in particular that of all parties concerned in taking practical steps towards helping the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders to renew their commitment to a settlement under United Nations auspices; taking note of the assessment of the Secretary‑General that the security situation on the island and along the Green Line remains stable, and urging all sides to avoid any action, including violations of the military status quo, which could lead to an increase in tension, undermine the progress achieved so far, or damage the goodwill on the island,
“Recalling the Secretary‑General’s firm belief that the situation in the buffer zone would be improved if both sides accept and actively assist UNFICYP in the implementation of the aide‑mémoire in use by the United Nations,
“Noting with regret that the sides are withholding access to the remaining minefields in the buffer zone, and that demining in Cyprus must continue, noting the continued danger posed by mines in Cyprus, noting also proposals and discussions as well as positive initiatives on demining, and urging rapid agreement on facilitating the recommencement of demining operations and clearance of the remaining minefields,
“Commending the work of the Committee on Missing Persons, highlighting the importance of intensifying its activities, and therefore the need to provide all information required as expressed in the press release of the Committee on Missing Persons on 28 July 2016 regarding review of archival materials, noting that the remains of 1,132 missing persons, from a total of 2,002, have not yet been positively identified, urging the opening up of access to all areas expeditiously to allow the Committee to carry out its work, and trusting that this process will promote reconciliation between the communities,
“Agreeing that the active participation and leadership of women is essential to the political process and can contribute to making any future settlement sustainable, recalling that women play a critically important role in peace processes as recognized in United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), and related resolutions; recalling resolution 2242 (2015) and its aspiration to increase the number of women in military and police contingents of United Nations peacekeeping missions; and further recalling the importance of the active participation of youth, consistent with resolution 2250 (2015),
“Urging the sides to step up their efforts to promote intercommunal contacts, reconciliation and the active engagement of civil society, including bicommunal initiatives and development projects where the two communities can work together and jointly benefit, and the encouragement of cooperation between economic and commercial bodies and to remove all obstacles to such contacts, while also noting various initiatives to bring together particular sectors or actors on both sides for dialogue, including the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process,
“Stressing the need for the Council to pursue a rigorous, strategic approach to peacekeeping deployments,
“Recalling resolution 2378 (2017) which requests the Secretary‑General to ensure that data related to the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations, including performance data, is used to improve analytics and evaluation of mission operations, based on clear and well‑identified benchmarks, and emphasizing the need to regularly review all peacekeeping operations including UNFICYP to ensure efficiency and effectiveness,
“Noting the importance of transition planning in relation to the settlement, including the need to consider adjustments as appropriate to the mandate of UNFICYP, force levels and other resources and concept of operations, taking into account developments on the ground and the views of the parties,
“Noting with appreciation the efforts of the Secretary‑General and Special Representative Elizabeth Spehar,
“Echoing the Secretary‑General’s gratitude to the Government of Cyprus and the Government of Greece for their voluntary contributions to the funding of UNFICYP, and his request for further voluntary contributions from other countries and organizations, and expressing appreciation to Member States that contribute personnel to UNFICYP,
“Welcoming and encouraging efforts by the United Nations to sensitize peacekeeping personnel in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases in all its peacekeeping operations,
“1. Welcomes the progress of the leaders‑led process since 11 February 2014 and the efforts of the leaders and their negotiators to reach a comprehensive and durable settlement, notes the lack of progress towards a settlement since the conclusion of the Conference on Cyprus and urges the sides and all involved participants to seize the important opportunity presented by the appointment of United Nations consultant Jane Holl Lute to conduct in‑depth consultations on a way forward, by engaging constructively in those consultations, and renewing their political will and commitment to a settlement under United Nations auspices;
“2. In this regard, calls upon the sides, specifically the leaders of the two Cypriot communities, and all involved parties to actively engage with openness and creativity, fully commit to a settlement process under United Nations auspices, use the United Nations consultations to restart negotiations, and avoid any actions that might damage the chances of success;
“3. Takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General (documents S/2018/610 and S/2018/676);
“4. Reaffirms all its relevant resolutions on Cyprus, in particular resolution 1251 (1999) of 29 June 1999 and subsequent resolutions;
“5. Recalls Security Council resolution 2398 (2018), and calls upon the two leaders to:
(a) Put their efforts behind further work on reaching convergences on the core issues;
(b) Intensify work with the Technical Committees with the objective of enhancing intercommunal contacts and improving the daily lives of the Cypriots;
(c) Improve the public atmosphere for negotiation to secure a settlement, including by focusing public messages on convergences and the way ahead, and delivering more constructive and harmonized messages; and by refraining from rhetoric that could make a successful process more difficult to achieve, and;
(d) Increase and strengthen the participation of civil society in the process as appropriate, with a view to mobilizing greater support for the settlement process at large;
“6. Welcomes the Secretary-General’s willingness, and expresses its full support, for his good offices to remain available to assist the sides, should they jointly decide to re‑engage in negotiations with the necessary political will, as stated in his report of 28 September 2017; and requests the Secretary‑General to maintain transition planning in relation to a settlement, guided by progress in negotiations, and encourages the sides to engage with each other, as well as with UNFICYP and the United Nations good offices mission in this regard;
“7. Urges the implementation and further development of confidence‑building measures based on a shared vision for the future and joint actions, and looks forward to agreement on and implementation of further such mutually acceptable steps, including military confidence‑building measures and the opening of crossing points already agreed upon and others, and urges the sides to promote intercommunal contacts, exchange and cooperation thereby contributing to a conducive environment for a settlement;
“8. Stresses the importance of the full and effective participation of civil society and women in particular at all stages of the peace process and urges their involvement in the development and implementation of post‑conflict strategies for sustainable peace, including by revitalizing the Gender Committee and considering the Secretary‑General’s proposal to conduct a gender‑sensitive socioeconomic impact assessment;
“9. Further stresses the importance of the full and effective participation of youth; recognizes the important work of the bicommunal Technical Committee on Education and calls on both sides to facilitate intercommunal youth contacts;
“10. Welcomes all efforts to accommodate the Committee on Missing Persons exhumation requirements as well as the joint appeal for information issued by the two leaders on 28 May 2015, and calls upon all parties to provide more expeditious, full access to all areas and to respond to the Committee’s request for archival information on possible burial sites, given the need to accelerate the Committee’s work;
“11. Expresses its full support for UNFICYP and decides to extend its mandate for a further period ending 31 January 2019;
“12. Supports the need to improve the mission’s capacity for liaison and engagement with the sides across all components, including people‑to‑people contacts, to keep stability and calm, and thereby contribute effectively to conditions conducive to progress in a settlement process; and requests the Secretary‑General to increase the number of women in UNFICYP as well as to ensure the meaningful participation of women in all aspects of operations;
“13. Calls on both sides to continue to engage, as a matter of urgency and while respecting the mandate of UNFICYP, in consultations with UNFICYP on the demarcation of the buffer zone and implement the United Nations aide‑mémoire, with a view to reaching early agreement on outstanding issues;
“14. Calls on the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkish forces to restore in Strovilia the military status quo which existed there prior to 30 June 2000;
“15. Calls on both sides to allow access to deminers and to facilitate the removal of the remaining mines in Cyprus within the buffer zone, and urges both sides to extend demining operations outside the buffer zone;
“16. Requests the Secretary‑General to submit a report on his good offices and the outcome of United Nations consultant Jane Holl Lute’s consultations by 15 October 2018; further requests the Secretary‑General to submit a report on implementation of this resolution by 10 January 2019, including progress on confidence‑building measures, and to keep the Security Council updated on events as necessary;
“17. Welcomes the initiatives undertaken by the Secretary‑General to standardize a culture of performance in United Nations peacekeeping, calls on him to continue his efforts to develop an integrated performance policy framework, and to apply it, once completed and endorsed, including to UNFICYP;
“18. Welcomes the efforts being undertaken by UNFICYP to implement the Secretary‑General’s zero‑tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and to ensure full compliance of its personnel with the United Nations code of conduct, requests the Secretary‑General to continue to take all necessary action in this regard and to keep the Security Council informed, and urges troop- and police‑contributing countries to take appropriate preventive action including the conduct of predeployment awareness training, and to take disciplinary action and other action to ensure full accountability in cases of such conduct involving their personnel;
“19. Decides to remain seized of the matter.”