United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus

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The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) was established in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order and a return to normal conditions.[1] After the 1974 Greek coup-d'etat and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the UN Security Council extended and expanded the mission to prevent that Cyprus dispute turning into war.

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[edit] Background

In 1995, UNFICYP found that Turkish Cypriots living in the southern part of the island were not subject to a restrictive regime and under the law enjoyed the same rights as other citizens. At the same time, in several respects, it was found that Turkish Cypriots were often the victims of capricious discrimination and harassment and thus did not enjoy a fully normal life. With regard to Greek Cypriots and Maronites living in the northern part of the island, the review confirmed that those communities were the objects of very severe restrictions imposed by the Turkish Cypriot authorities, which curtailed the exercise of many basic freedoms and had the effect of ensuring that, inexorably with the passage of time, those communities would cease to exist in the northern part of the island.

On 5 December 2006, the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended a further six-month extension in the mandate of the UN mission that has been deployed on the island for over four decades. Mr. Annan said that while the situation remained “calm and stable with no major violations of the ceasefire lines,” he regretted the continued stalemate in the political process and the “missed opportunities” over the past 10 years.

The annual cost for maintaining UNFICYP is estimated at $51,900,000. This includes the voluntary contribution by the Government of Cyprus of one third of the cost of the force and the annual amount of $6,500,000 contributed by the Government of Greece. Turkey does not directly contribute to the force’s budget [2].

[edit] Peacekeeping forces

As of 30 Nov 2006, the total strength (military personnel and civilian police) of UNFICYP was 356. The 854 military personnel are from Argentina (the Argentine contingent includes soldiers from the Argentine Army, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and the Argentine Marine Corps), Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia and the United Kingdom [3]

There are 64 civilian police provided by Argentina, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, El Salvador, India, Italy, Ireland and Netherlands. In addition UNFICYP had 146 civilian staff, 38 of whom were internationally recruited and 108 locally recruited.


The Force Military Police Unit, FMPU, is 1 of only 2 multi-national sub units within UNFICYP, the other being the Mobile Force Reserve, MFR. The FMPU is commanded by a major of the UK Royal Military Police, with 7 other members of the RMP as part of the 253 strong unit. Other contributing nationalities are Argentina, Hungary and Slovakia.


Since 1994 the UN Air contingent (UNFLIGHT) for UNFICYP is provided by the Argentine Air Force [4] achieving in 2003 10,000 flight hours without any accident. [5]. During the 2004 Israel-Lebanon conflict the Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora was brought in and out Lebanon by one of their helicopters [6]

[edit] Commanders of UN Forces (UNFICYP)

  • 6 Mar 1964 - Jun 1964 : P.S. Gyani (India)
  • 8 Jul 1964 - Dec 1965 : Kodandera Subayya Thimayya (India)
  • Dec 1965 - May 1966 : Alexander James Wilson (acting) (United Kingdom)
  • May 1966 - Dec 1969 : Ilmari Armas-Eino Martola (Finland)
  • Dec 1969 - Dec 1976 : Dewan Prem Chand (India)
  • Dec 1976 - Mar 1981 : J.J. Quinn (Ireland)
  • Mar 1981 - Apr 1988 : Gunther G. Greindl (Austria)
  • Apr 1988 - Apr 1992 : Clive Milner (Canada)
  • Apr 1992 - 31 Jul 1994 : Michael F. Minehane (Ireland)
  • 1 Aug 1994 - 28 Feb 1997 : Ahti Toimi Paavali Vartiainen (Finland)
  • 28 Feb 1997 - 15 Dec 1999 : Evergisto Arturo de Vergara (Argentina)
  • 16 Dec 1999 - 15 Dec 2001 : Victory Rana (Nepal)
  • 7 Jan 2002 - Dec 2003 : Jin Ha Hwang (South Korea)
  • 7 Jan 2004 - 12 Jan 2006 : Herbert Figoli (Uruguay)
  • 15 Feb 2006 - present  : Rafael José Barni (Argentina)

[edit] Fatalities

As of January 2008, UNFICYP has suffered 177 fatalities: [7]

  • Accident: 96
  • Illness: 43
  • Malicious Act: 15
  • Other: 23

[edit] References

  1. ^ UN Security Council Resolution 186: The Cyprus Question (PDF). United Nations (4 Mar 1964). Retrieved on 2007-01-29.
  2. ^ www.unficyp.org - Facts & Figures
  3. ^ UN site:Cyprus - UNFICYP - Facts and Figures
  4. ^ FAA site:United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)
  5. ^ Helis.com Database
  6. ^ www.unficyp.org - Photo Release
  7. ^ Mission & Incident Type (Summary) Detail

[edit] See also

[edit] External links