CYPRUS

UNFICYP was set up in 1964 to prevent further fighting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. After the hostilities of 1974, the Mission's respon- sibilities were expanded. UNFICYP remains on the island to supervise ceasefire lines, maintain a buffer zone and undertake humanitarian activities.

April 2005

Croatians joined UNFICYP's police contingent.

May 2005

The Irish Defence Forces ended 41 years of peacekeeping service in Cyprus at a sunset flag-lowering ceremony, held near the old International Airport in the Protected Area, , Cyprus, location of UNFICYP's headquarters. At the close of the brief ceremony, the last serving member of the Irish Contingent, Lt. Col. Paul Quirke, presented the flag to Ireland's Ambassador to Cyprus, H.E. Mr. John Swift. Lt. Col. Quirke first saw United Nations peacekeeping service when he was assigned to UNFICYP as a young lieutenant in 1966. Brig. Gen. Fred Swords of the Irish Defence Forces travelled from Ireland to attend the ceremony. Force Commander Maj. Gen. Hebert Figoli and other senior UNFICYP officials were also present. A total of 9,540 Irish peacekeepers had served with UNFICYP from 1964 to the present day. Two, Maj. Gen. J. Quinn (1976-81) and Maj. Gen. M. Minehane (1992-94), had served as UNFICYP Force Commanders. The Irish presence con- tinued in UNFICYP with 18 members of the Irish Police (Garda Siochana) serving as members of the peacekeeping mission's civilian police component. On arrival at Larnaca Airport on 30 May 2005 United Nations Under-Secretary- General Kieran Prendergast said:

I am here in furtherance of the Secretary-General's mission of good offices. The objective in coming is to take the pulse on the island and in the region after a period of reflection by all sides following the results of last year's referenda. The United Nations respects the outcome of the referendum here. Primarily therefore this means that I am here to listen to both sides. We know that Greek Cypriots have concerns about the and about a number of developments. We know that Turkish Cypriots have concerns about a number of develop- ments too. I had an initial but nevertheless detailed exchange with a Greek Cypriot delega- tion two weeks ago. We listened carefully to them. I hope that they also found useful what we had to say for our part. I am here to continue in the same spirit with all parties. I am also here to underline the responsibilities that lie on the parties for the pursuit of the comprehen- sive settlement. I spoke about that with the Greek Cypriot delegation in New York and I will be stressing that with all my interlocutors. Only through constructive efforts by the parties themselves is there hope that progress can be achieved. I am under no illusions about the difficulties in making progress. I am afraid I will not have anything to report to you at the end of my visit here. This is because I will be midway through a series of consultations, which will also take me to Athens and to . Then, of course, I have to report back to the Secretary-General.

June 2005

The report of the UN Secretary-General on the United Nations operation in Cyprus was given as follows:

I. Introduction

In resolution 1568 (2004) of 22 October 2004, the Security Council, extended the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyrus (UNFICYP) until 15 June 2005, endorsed my recommendations for the amendment of the concept of operations and force levels of the mission and welcomed my intention to conduct a further review of its operations before the end of its mandate. The present report covers developments from 25 September 2004 to 20 May 2005, bringing up to date the record of activities carried out by UNFICYP pursuant to Security Council res- olution 186 (1964) of 4 March 1964 and subsequent Council resolutions. 2. It also contains the findings of the review of UNFICYP, carried out by a joint UNFICYP-Headquarters review team headed respectively by my Special Representative, Mr. Zbigniew Wlosowicz and by the Acting Director of the Europe and Latin America Division, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Wolfgang Weisbrod-Weber. The joint team assessed the restructuring of UNFICYP and the implementation of its new concept of operations as well as developments on the ground and the operational environment of the force. On the island, between 6 and 11 May, the joint team sought and took into account the views of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides, consulted with representatives of the diplomatic com- munity and the UN family, and held discussions with the Representative of the European Commission. 3. UNFICYP continues to be led by my Special Representative and Chief of Mission, Mr. Zbigniew Wlosowicz, assisted by the Force Commander Major General Hebert Figoli (Uruguay). The strength of the military component stood at 869 all ranks. The strength of the police component stood at 52 (see Annex).