Τhe United Nations Security Council is to vote towards the end of January on the resolution for the renewal of the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), which expires on January 31, 2024.

The special representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus and head of UNFICYP, Colin Stewart, is to brief in New York, during the second week of January, representatives of the countries contributing troops to UNFICYP, and the Security Council, while, according to information CNA has obtained, he will seek to meet the new UN Secretary-General’s envoy on the Cyprus problem once her appointment is announced.

The UN Secretary General’s reports on UNFICYP and his Good Offices Mission in Cyprus are expected to be distributed to the Security Council members just before Stewart briefs the Security Council.

Earlier in the same week, Stewart is to brief representatives of countries that contribute troops to UNFICYP.

After the Security Council is briefed by Stewart, a draft resolution will be submitted and consultations will be held between the member states to agree on the final text of the resolution which should be adopted by January 30.

As of 2023, the UNFICYP’s mandate is renewed by the Security Council on an annual basis and not twice per year as was the practice until this year.

UNFICYP arrived in Cyprus in March 1964 after inter-communal fighting broke out. UNFICYP’s mandate is to contribute to the restoration of normal conditions and entails the facilitation of an increasingly wide range of civilian activities.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.