Security Council resolution 2618 (2022) [on extension of the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) until 31 July 2022]
Symbol: S/RES/2618 (2022)
Date: 2022-01-27
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/77 [43] UN PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN CYPRUS
S/77 [42] CYPRUS QUESTION
S/ X The situation in Cyprus.
Subjects: UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus|PEACEBUILDING|CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|GOOD OFFICES|VAROSHA (CYPRUS)|CYPRUS|CYPRUS QUESTION
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: ALBANIA
vote: yes
country: BRAZIL
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GABON
vote: yes
country: GHANA
vote: yes
country: INDIA
vote: yes
country: IRELAND
vote: yes
country: KENYA
vote: yes
country: MEXICO
vote: yes
country: NORWAY
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                      S/RES/2618 (2022)
               Security Council                                                    Distr.: General
                                                                                   27 January 2022




               Resolution 2618 (2022)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 8956th meeting, on
               27 January 2022

                    The Security Council,
                     Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General of 31 December 2021 on his
               Good Offices (S/2021/1109) and on the United Nations operation in Cyprus
               (S/2021/1110), and expressing its full support for his Good Offices, including the
               existing body of work, to remain available to assist the sides,
                     Underscoring 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 with a sense of urgency,
                     Welcoming the continuing personal engagement of the Secretary-General and
               that of his team, including his proposal for a United Nations envoy to lead further
               engagement which could provide critical support in the search for common ground
               with the goal of returning to formal negotiations as set out in his Good Offices re port
               (S/2021/1109),
                     Expressing full support for the Secretary-General’s ongoing efforts and reiterating
               the importance of openness, flexibility and compromise in finding common ground with
               the goal of returning to formal negotiations, and urging the sides to renew their efforts
               to achieve an enduring, comprehensive and just settlement based on a bicommunal,
               bizonal federation with political equality, as set out in relevant Security Council
               resolutions, including paragraph 4 of its resolution 716 (1991),
                     Noting with regret the lack of progress made towards restarting formal
               negotiations at this time and stressing that the status quo is unsustainable, that the
               situation on the ground is not static, and that the lack of an agreement furthers political
               tensions and deepens the estrangement of both communities, risking irreversible
               changes on the ground, and reducing the prospects of a settlement,
                     Recalling its Presidential Statement (S/PRST/2021/13), and all relevant
               resolutions and statements of its President regarding Varosha,
                     Recalling its resolution 1325 (2000) and all related resolutions, recognising that
               the full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership of women is essential in
               building peace in Cyprus and will contribute to making any future settlement
               sustainable, welcoming efforts to bring together a broader range of women actors on
               both sides and the joint action plan on ensuring women’s participation in peace talks,



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               and encouraging the sides to ensure the needs and perspectives of women are
               addressed in a future settlement,
                     Recalling its resolution 2250 (2015) and related resolutions that recognise the
               important and positive contribution of youth in efforts for the maintenance and
               promotion of peace and security, and as a key aspect of the sustainability,
               inclusiveness and success of peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts, and further
               encourages the full, equal and meaningful participation of youth in this process,
                     Recalling the critical importance of full adherence to applicable international
               law in the handling of asylum seekers and refugees,
                     Recognising the ongoing efforts made by both communities to suppress the
               spread of COVID-19 and mitigate its effects, welcoming the cooperation between the
               sides on epidemiological issues, and encouraging further cooperation in this area, in
               particular initiatives to enable greater access to safe and effective COVID-19
               vaccines, and echoing the Secretary-General’s finding that COVID-19 has further
               widened the socio-economic disparity between the two Cypriot communities,
                     Expressing concern at the continued deterioration of the law and order situation
               in Pyla, welcoming the agreement in principle reached to establish an extension of the
               existing Joint Contact Room to Pyla, and urging both sides to continue to work with
               UNFICYP to establish effective measures to tackle criminal activities,
                     Reiterating the importance of confidence-building measures and their timely
               implementation, and encouraging the sides to consider new military confidence
               building measures,
                     Urging the sides to step up their efforts to promote intercommunal contacts,
               reconciliation and the active engagement of civil society, in particular women and
               youth, and recognising that regular, effective contact and communication between the
               sides enhances the prospects for settlement and is in the interests of all Cypriots, and
               helps to address island-wide matters, including migration, health, crime,
               environmental protection, and issues related to the adverse impacts of climate change,
                    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 2022,
                     Welcoming measures to date to strengthen the liaison and engagement capacity
               of the mission, noting the importance of transition planning in relation to the
               settlement and in line with resolution 2594 (2021) and other relevant resolutions, and
               emphasising the need to review regularly all peacekeeping operations, including
               UNFICYP, to ensure efficiency and effectiveness,
                   Expressing appreciation to Member States that contribute personnel to
               UNFICYP, and noting the continued voluntary contributions to the funding of
               UNFICYP by the Government of Cyprus and the Government of Greece,
                     Noting with appreciation the efforts of the Secretary-General, and welcoming
               the appointment of Colin Stewart as Special Representative of the Secretary -General,
                     1.    Reaffirms all its relevant resolutions on Cyprus, in particular resolution
               1251 (1999) and recalls the importance of achieving an enduring, comprehensive and
               just settlement based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, as
               set out in relevant Security Council resolutions, including paragraph 4 of its
               resolution 716 (1991);
                     2.   Fully supports the Secretary-General’s ongoing engagement with the sides
               and encourages further rounds of informal talks and reiterates the importance of the
               sides and all involved participants approaching this process in the spirit of openness,

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           flexibility and compromise and to show the necessary political will and commitment
           to freely negotiate a mutually acceptable settlement under United Nations auspices,
           and urges the sides to engage actively and with an increased sense of urgency with
           the Secretary-General and his team to this end, including by reaching an agreement
           regarding the proposal of the Secretary-General to appoint a United Nations envoy;
                 3.    Recalls the status of Varosha as set out in relevant resolutions, including
           resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992), and its Presidential Statement
           (S/PRST/2021/13) which condemns the 20 July 2021 announcement by Turkish and
           Turkish Cypriot leaders on the further reopening of a part of the fenced -off area of
           Varosha, expresses deep regret regarding unilateral actions that run contrary to its
           previous resolutions and statements on Varosha and calls for the immediate reversal
           of this course of action and of all steps taken on Varosha since October 20 20, and
           reiterates that no actions should be carried out in relation to Varosha that are not in
           accordance with its resolutions and continues to stress the need to avoid any unilateral
           actions that could raise tensions on the island and undermine the prospects for a
           peaceful settlement;
                 4.   Expresses concern at the continuing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean,
           and underlines that disputes should be resolved peacefully in accordance with
           applicable international law, remains convinced of the many important benefits,
           including economic benefits, for all Cypriots and the wider region that would flow
           from a comprehensive and durable settlement, reiterates the Secretary-General’s
           previous call to avoid escalatory steps, and further calls upon the leaders of the two
           Cypriot communities and all involved parties to refrain from any actions and rhetoric
           that might damage the settlement process and that could ra ise tensions on the island;
                5.    Recalls its resolution 2587 (2021) and calls upon the two leaders urgently to:
                (a) reinvigorate their efforts to provide the necessary support and overall
           guidance to free the Technical Committees from political obstructions in their work
           and enable them to function effectively in coordination and cooperation on matters
           which have island-wide implications, including through the effective use of the
           expertise available in the bicommunal Technical Committees on Health, Criminal
           Matters, Crisis Management, Humanitarian Affairs and Economic Matters, and to
           empower them to submit proposals for their consideration to enhance intercommunal
           contacts and improve the daily lives of all Cypriots, and consider the advice of the
           Good Offices Mission of the Secretary-General regarding further ways to empower
           the Technical Committees and improve their performance;
                (b)   ensure effective coordination and cooperation on criminal matters;
                (c) intensify efforts to promote peace education across the island, including
           by further empowering the Technical Committee on Education to implement the
           recommendations contained in its joint report of 2017, in particular those concerning
           policy-making, and to address impediments to peace by conducting a joint review of
           school materials, including text books, as a contribution to trust -building between the
           communities, on which there continues to be no progress;
                 (d) improve the public atmosphere for negotiation to secure a settlement,
           including by preparing the communities for a settlement through public messages on
           the way ahead, and delivering more constructive and harmonised messages, including
           by more explicitly encouraging contact and cooperation betwe en the communities and
           providing direct support to grassroots people-to-people initiatives, and by refraining
           from actions or rhetoric that detracts from a successful process or could make it more
           difficult to achieve;
                (e) increase their support to, and ensure a meaningful role for, civil society
           engagement in peace efforts, in particular strengthening the participation of women’s

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               organisations and youth in the process, and to support implementation of the
               recommendations of the gender sensitive socioeconomic impact assessment to
               address existing barriers and ensure a future peace agreement can more equally
               benefit men and women in Cyprus;
                     6.    Regrets the ongoing lack of meaningful participation of women’s
               organisations and youth in the Settlement process, welcomes the Technical Committee
               on Gender Equality’s convergence on a set of practical recommendations to ensure
               women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in the settlement process, to support
               and encourage engagement with civil society, including women’s organisations, and
               to include a gender perspective in a future settlement process and urges the leaders of
               both sides to ensure thorough and effective implementation of all recommendations
               under the joint action plan on women’s participation, and t o empower the Technical
               Committee on Gender Equality to carry out recommendations pertaining to the
               Committee and to review implementation of the plan every six months and provide
               recommendations as appropriate, and continues to note the Secretary-General’s call
               to ensure the inclusion of at least 30 per cent women in future delegations;
                     7.    Deeply regrets the lack of progress on an effective mechanism for direct
               military contacts between the sides and the relevant involved parties, and urges
               flexibility and engagement by the sides and the relevant involved parties, facilitated
               by UNFICYP, to develop a suitably acceptable proposal on the establishment of such
               a mechanism, and its timely implementation;
                     8.    Calls upon the sides to reduce existing barriers to intercommunal contact,
               emphasizes the importance of effective communication for risk-mitigation and trustbuilding between the communities, and in this regard welcomes the continuation of the
               regular dialogue between the sides and the United Nations, urges the sides to agree and
               implement further confidence building measures that can contribute to a conducive
               environment for settlement, including those related to the military, economic
               cooperation and trade, and including through the work of the Technical Committees,
               and in this regard welcomes the proposal of the Secretary-General for a dialogue
               between the parties and the Special Representative to explore a possible agreement on
               surveillance technology and unmanning of positions adjacent to the buffer zon e;
                     9.    Commends the ongoing work of the Committee on Missing Persons, and
               calls upon all parties to enhance their cooperation with the Committee’s work, in
               particular through providing full access without delay to all areas and responding in
               a timely manner to requests for archival information on possible burial sites;
                     10. Expresses its full support for UNFICYP, and decides to extend its mandate
               for a further period ending on 31 July 2022;
                    11. Expresses serious concern at the continued violations of the military status
               quo along the ceasefire lines, the reported encroachment by both sides into the Buffer
               Zone and the risks associated, the challenges to the mission’s delineation of the buffer
               zone and the increase in unauthorised construction as outlined in paragraphs 11, 14,
               15 and 18 of the Secretary-General’s report (S/2021/1110) which poses challenges to
               UNFICYP’s operations and mandated authority;
                     12. Strongly urges the sides and all involved parties to respect UNFICYP’s
               mandated authority in, and delineation of, the buffer zone, reaffirms the importance of
               the use of the 2018 United Nations aide-memoire by the sides to ensure peace and
               security in the buffer zone, continues to request the Secretary-General to report to the
               Security Council and troop- and police-contributing countries any actions that impede
               UNFICYP’s ability to fulfil its mandate, and renews its call on both sides to respect
               the integrity of the buffer zone, to remove all unauthorised constructions and to
               prevent unauthorised military or civilian activities within and along the ceasefire lines;


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                 13. Stresses that UNFICYP’s mandated authority extends throughout Cyprus
           and reaffirms the importance of respect for UNFICYP’s freedom of movement
           throughout Cyprus, including to ensure systematic and effective monitoring and
           reporting by the mission particularly on the situation in Varosha, as well as elsewhere,
           stresses that restrictions on freedom of movement can present risks to the safety and
           security of United Nations personnel serving in peacekeeping operations, and
           requests the Secretary-General, Member States and all parties to continue to take all
           appropriate measures to ensure the safety and security and freedom of movement of
           UNFICYP personnel with unhindered and immediate access, in line with resolution
           2518 (2020);
                 14. Reiterates its 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,
           and reaffirms that UNFICYP’s freedom of movement should be respected;
                15. Urges the leaders of both communities to agree and continue a plan of
           work to achieve a mine-free Cyprus, and to overcome the existing barriers to this
           work as outlined in paragraph 21 of the Secretary-General’s report (S/2021/1110), in
           order to make expeditious progress towards clearing the 29 remainin g suspected
           hazardous areas on the island;
                 16. Requests the Secretary-General to implement the following activities and
           existing obligations in the planning and conduct of UNFICYP’s operations within the
           limits of the mandate and area of operations and in line with existing United Nations
           guidelines and regulations:
                 (a) women, peace and security requirements under resolution 1325 (2000) and
           all resolutions addressing women, peace, and security, includ ing by seeking to
           increase the number of women in UNFICYP in line with resolution 2538 (2020),
           including through ensuring the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women at
           all levels, and in all aspects of its operations including senior leadership positions,
           and through ensuring safe, enabling and gender-sensitive working environments for
           women in peacekeeping operations, as well as taking fully into account gender
           considerations as a crosscutting issue throughout its mandate, and reaffirming the
           importance of sufficient gender expertise in all mission components and capacity
           strengthening in executing the mission mandate in a gender-responsive manner;
                (b) peacekeeping performance requirements under resolutions 2378 (2017)
           and 2436 (2018);
                (c) the United Nations zero-tolerance policy on serious misconduct, sexual
           exploitation and abuse, and sexual harassment, and all actions under resolution 2272
           (2016), and to report to the Security Council if such cases of misconduct occur;
                (d) implementing more effective casualty and medical evacuation procedures,
           as well as deploying enhanced medical evacuation capacities;
                 (e) taking active and effective measures to improve the planning and
           functioning of UNFICYP’s safety and security facilities and arrangem ents;
                (f) youth, peace and security requirements under resolutions 2250 (2015),
           2419 (2018) and 2535 (2020);
                 17. Urges troop- and police-contributing countries to continue taking
           appropriate action to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse, including vetting,
           predeployment and in-mission awareness training for all personnel, to ensure full
           accountability in cases of such conduct involving their personnel, including through
           timely investigations of all allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, to repatriate
           units when there is credible evidence of widespread or systemic sexual exploitation


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               and abuse by those units, to take appropriate disciplinary measures, and to report to
               the United Nations fully and promptly on actions undertaken;
                     18. Requests troop- and police-contributing countries to implement relevant
               provisions of resolution 2538 (2020) and all other relevant resolutions on reducing
               barriers to and increasing women’s participation at all levels and in all positions in
               peacekeeping, including by ensuring safe, enabling and gender-sensitive working
               environments for women in peacekeeping operations;
                     19. Requests the Secretary-General to submit by 5 July 2022 a report on his
               Good Offices, in particular on progress towards reaching a consensus starting point
               for meaningful results-oriented negotiations leading to a settlement, encourages the
               leaders of the two communities to provide written updates to the Good Offices
               Mission of the Secretary-General on the actions they have taken in support of the
               relevant parts of this resolution since its adoption, in particular with regard to
               paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 8, with a view to reaching a sustainable and comprehensive
               settlement, and further requests the Secretary-General to include the contents of these
               updates in his Good Offices report; further requests the Secretary-General to submit
               by 5 July 2022 a report on implementation of this resolution that provides integrated,
               evidence-based and data-driven analysis, strategic assessments and frank advice to
               the Security Council, drawing on data collected and analysed through the
               Comprehensive Planning and Performance Assessment System (CPAS), the mission’s
               implementation of the Integrated Peacekeeping Performance and Accountability
               Framework (IPPAF) and other strategic planning and performance measurement tools
               to describe the mission’s impact and overall mission performance, including
               information on undeclared caveats, declining to participate in or undertake patrols
               and their impact on the mission, and how the reported cases of under-performance are
               addressed, and to keep the Security Council updated on ev ents as necessary;
                    20.   Decides to remain seized of the matter.




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