Cyprus supports UN efforts to strengthen peacekeeping operations

Cyprus fully supports to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' efforts to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of the UN peacekeeping operations.

The Republic`s position was outlined by its Ambassador Kornelios S. Korneliou, Permanent Representative to the UN, at the Open Debate of the Security Council on “Collective Action to Improve UN Peacekeeping Operations”.

"We thank the Secretary General for his presentation and express our full support to his efforts to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of UN peacekeeping," said Korneliou.

The Ambassador said that a discussion on this specific topic at the Security Council is, “first and foremost, a reminder of our obligation to reiterate our utmost appreciation and to pay tribute to the United Nations, the Security Council and the countries that have contributed troops and resources to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).”

As a country that has relied on UN peacekeeping, Cyprus is all the more conscious of its responsibility to do its share in the collective effort to give the blue berets the means to effectively deliver the mandates entrusted to them by this body, the Cypriot Ambassador noted.

Peacekeeping operations must have sound, realistic and robust mandates, he remarked, adding that where a peacekeeping operation has been deployed after the Security Council had established the existence of a threat to international peace and security, this peacekeeping operation ought to have the required support to be able to respond to this challenge, for as long as the abnormality continuous.

He also said that peacekeeping operations should continuously undergo modernization and renewal in order to adjust to contemporary needs and challenges. It is of paramount importance that the strategic reviews are rigorous, evidence-based and conducted in close consultation with the host country – as was the case with UNFICYP, Korneliou added.

He further highlighted that peacekeeping plays an indispensable and catalytic role in ensuring the necessary stability and security on the ground that in turn, enable and facilitate the track of the political process.

UNFICYP arrived in Cyprus in March 1964, after intercommunal fighting broke out between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities. Today, it is one of the longest-serving peacekeeping operations.