Security Council resolution 2453 (2019) [on extension of the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) until 31 July 2019]
Symbol: S/RES/2453 (2019)
Date: 2019-01-30
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/74 [43] UN PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN CYPRUS
S/74 [42] CYPRUS QUESTION
S/ X The situation in Cyprus.
Subjects: UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus|PEACEBUILDING|CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|CYPRUS|CYPRUS QUESTION
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: BELGIUM
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: CÔTE D'IVOIRE
vote: yes
country: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
vote: yes
country: EQUATORIAL GUINEA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GERMANY
vote: yes
country: INDONESIA
vote: yes
country: KUWAIT
vote: yes
country: PERU
vote: yes
country: POLAND
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: SOUTH AFRICA
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                   S/RES/2453 (2019)
               Security Council                                                 Distr.: General
                                                                                30 January 2019




               Resolution 2453 (2019)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 8453rd meeting,
               on 30 January 2019

                    The Security Council,
                    Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General of 15 October 2018 on his Good
               Offices (S/2018/919) and of 11 January (S/2019/37) 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 January 2019,
                     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 dur able settlement,
                     Noting 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, welcoming the participants ’ commitment to support
               the process towards a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus, and the support provided
               by the Secretary-General and Secretary-General’s Special Representative Elizabeth
               Spehar,
                     Recalling the importance attached by the international community to all parties
               engaging fully, flexibly and constructively in negotiations to secure a settlement and
               urging the sides to renew their commitment to an enduring, comprehensive and just
               settlement based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, as set
               out in relevant Security Council resolutions, stressing that the status quo is
               unsustainable,
                    Welcoming the efforts of UN Consultant Jane Holl Lute, and urging the sides
               and all involved parties to demonstrate political will and engage constructively with
               UN consultations,
                    Noting the need to advance the consideration of and discussions on military
               confidence-building measures, welcoming recent progress on confidence -building
               measures and urging renewed efforts to implement all remaining measures including
               mobile phone and electricity interconnectivity, and for agreement on and
               implementation of further joint and unilateral steps to build trust between the



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               communities, including new confidence building measures, particularly in the fields
               of education, youth and inter-communal economic cooperation, recognising the
               important benefits of enhanced economic integration between both communities,
                     Underlining the importance of promoting peace across all levels of education in
               order to overcome prejudice, xenophobia and intolerance and contribute to trust
               building between the communities,
                     Welcoming the opening of two new crossing points in November 2018 as an
               important contribution to trust-building, 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 c oncerned 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 but expressing concern at the
               sharp increase in the number of military violations of the status quo observed by
               UNFICYP compared to the same reporting period last year 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-memoire in use by the United Nations, underscoring the
               critical need for the sides and all involved parties to respect UNFICYP ’s mandated
               authority in the buffer zone,
                    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 1,075 missing persons, from a total of 2002, 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 recognised
               in its resolution 1325 (2000), and related resolutions; recalling its resolution 2242


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           (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 its resolutions 2250
           (2015) and 2419 (2018),
                  Urging the sides to step up their efforts to promote intercommunal contacts,
           reconciliation and the active engagement of civil society, including bi-communal
           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 its 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 emphasising the need to regularly
           review all peacekeeping operations including UNFICYP to ensure efficiency and
           effectiveness,
                Welcoming measures to date to strengthen the liaison and engagement capacity
           of the mission, and stressing the need to implement fully the remaining
           recommendations contained in the report of the 2017 Strategic Review of UNFICYP,
                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, and welcoming the Secretary-General’s
           appointment of UNFICYP Force Commander Major-General Cheryl Pearce,
                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.    Takes note of 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, expresses regret at the lack of progress towards a settlement since
           the conclusion of the 2017 Conference on Cyprus and urges the sides and all involved
           participants to seize the important opportunity presented by the consultations of UN
           Consultant, Jane Holl Lute, on a way forward, by engaging actively and
           constructively in those consultations, and urges them to agree terms of reference
           which would constitute a consensus starting point for meaningful results -oriented
           negotiations leading to a settlement within a foreseeable horizon, and to renew 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 and meaningfully engage
           with openness and creativity, fully commit to a settleme nt process under UN auspices,

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               use the UN 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 (S/2018/919 and
               S/2019/37));
                    4.   Reaffirms all its relevant resolutions on Cyprus, in particular resolution
               1251 (1999) of 29 June 1999 and subsequent resolutions;
                    5.    Recalls its resolution 2430 (2018), and calls upon the two leaders to:
                    (a) Put their efforts expeditiously 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) Promote peace education across the island, including by further
               empowering the Technical Committee on Education to address impediments to peace
               in school books, as a contribution to trust-building between the communities;
                    (d) Improve the public atmosphere for negotiation to secure a settlement,
               including by preparing the communities for a settlement throu gh public messages on
               convergences and the way ahead, and delivering more constructive and harmonised
               messages; and by refraining from rhetoric that detracts from or could make a
               successful process more difficult to achieve; and
                     (e) Increase and strengthen the participation of civil society, including
               women’s organisations and youth in the process; provide direct support and
               encouragement to civil society organisations to enhance inter-communal contact and
               trust-building, with a view to mobilising greater support for the settlement process at
               large;
                     6.    Calls upon the sides and the relevant involved parties, to explore ways to
               establish mechanisms and to enhance existing initiatives, with UNFICYP as
               facilitator through its liaison role, for effectively alleviating tensions and to help
               address island-wide matters that affect all Cypriots;
                     7.    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;
                    8.  Notes the Secretary-General’s report of the 2017 strategic review of
               UNFICYP (S/2017/1008) and requests the Mission to implement fully its
               recommendations within existing resources;
                     9.    Urges the implementation and further development of confidence-building
               measures, including those aimed at improving mobile phone and electricity
               interconnectivity, 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 additional
               crossing points, and urges the sides to promote intercommunal contacts, exchange
               and cooperation thereby contributing to a conducive environment for a settlement;
                     10. Stresses the importance of the full and effective participation of civil
               society and women in particular at all stages of the peace process and expects their
               involvement in the development and implementation of post-conflict strategies for


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           sustainable peace, including by revitalising the Gender Committee and calls upon the
           UN to take forward, within existing resources, the Secretary-General’s proposal to
           conduct a gender-sensitive socio-economic impact assessment and to share its
           outcome with both communities;
                 11. Further stresses the importance of the full and effective participation of
           youth; recognizes the important work of the Bi-Communal Technical Committee on
           Education and calls on both sides to facilitate intercommunal youth contacts,
           recognising the important contribution of projects to promote peace education and
           building connections between children from both communities;
                12. 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;
                 13. Expresses its full support for UNFICYP and decides to extend its mandate
           for a further period ending 31 July 2019;
                 14. Welcomes the mission’s efforts to improve its 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 in line with its resolution 2242 (2015), as well as
           to ensure the meaningful participation of women in all aspects of operations;
                 15. Expresses serious concern at the increased number of violations of the
           military status quo along the ceasefire lines and calls on the sides and all involved
           parties to respect UNFICYP’s mandated authority in the buffer zone, further calls on
           the 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 strongly recommends the use of the 2018 United Nations aidememoire by the sides to ensure peace and security in the buffer zone;
                16. 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;
                 17. 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 agree to a plan of work to achieve a mine-free Cyprus;
                18. Welcomes the initiatives undertaken by the Secretary-General to
           standardize a culture of performance in UN peacekeeping, and reaffirms its support
           for the development of a comprehensive and integrated performance policy
           framework that identifies clear standards of performance for evaluating all United
           Nations civilian and uniformed personnel working in and supporting peacekeeping
           operations that facilitates effective and full implementation of mandates, and includes
           comprehensive and objective methodologies based on clear and well-defined
           benchmarks to ensure accountability for underperformance and incentives and
           recognition for outstanding performance, and calls on him to apply it to UNFICYP;
                19. Supports the Secretary-General’s zero-tolerance policy on sexual
           exploitation and abuse, and requests the Secretary-General to work with the Force
           Commander and Troop-Contributing Countries to ensure UNFICYP’s full compliance
           with this policy, ensuring that all personnel of the mission are vetted for history of
           sexual misconduct in the service with the United Nations, and to ensure full
           compliance of its personnel with the United Nations code of conduct, keeping the
           Security Council informed through his reports about UNFICYP ’s progress in this

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               regard, and urges troop- and police-contributing countries to take appropriate
               preventive action including pre-deployment awareness training, and to take
               disciplinary action and other action to ensure full accountability in cases of such
               conduct involving their personnel;
                     20. Requests the Secretary-General to submit by 15 April 2019 a report on his
               Good Offices and on progress towards reaching a consensus starting point for
               meaningful results-oriented negotiations; further requests the Secretary-General to
               submit by 10 July 2019 a report on implementation of this resolution, including
               progress on confidence-building measures, efforts towards establishing mechanisms
               to alleviate tensions and address island-wide matters and efforts of the two Leaders
               to prepare the communities for a settlement, and on how UN activities on Cyprus can
               be best configured to advance political progress while preserving stability, and to keep
               the Security Council updated on events as necessary;
                    21.   Decides to remain seized of the matter.




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