UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres recommends in his report that UNHCR's mandate be renewed for another six months until 31 July 2022.
In his report on the peacekeeping force, Mr. Guterres notes that the past six months have seen a further deepening of mistrust between the sides and the two communities, encourages the leaders and their representatives to maintain dialogue with each other, expresses concern about the lack of communication between the two communities, and calls on the leaders to encourage more direct contact and cooperation between them. According to him, it is also crucial that the leaders and their representatives provide the technical committees with the political support they need to maintain a constructive dialogue and achieve tangible results.
"In light of UNFICYP's continued contribution to peace and stability and the creation of conditions conducive to a political settlement, I recommend that the Security Council extend the mandate of the mission for six months, until July 31, 2022," he said. According to him, public confidence in the possibility of reaching a solution "has continued to decline and the debate has focused on all the different positions of the sides, together with a possible appointment of an envoy for Cyprus."
According to him, public confidence in the possibility of reaching a solution "has continued to decline and the debate has focused on all the different positions of the sides, together with a possible appointment of an envoy for Cyprus.
"An unstable, domestic political backdrop created additional challenges, with Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots appearing to be increasingly sceptical about the prospects of finding common ground for a future resumption of peace talks," it said.
In addition, it continues, "some steps taken, in particular in relation to the enclosed part of Varosha and the buffer zone have contributed to a further deepening of mistrust, between the two sides and within the two communities."
Guterres notes that "the mission's calls for a return to the previous status quo remained unanswered with regard to the barbed wire fence placed last period along the southern line of confrontation, most of which (85%) is within the buffer zone".
Referring to Varosha, the UN Secretary-General says that "no steps have been taken to reverse the actions implemented since the announcement of the partial opening of the encircled town in October 2020, despite the Security Council's call in resolution 2587(2021)".
"Based on the mission's observations, the July 2021 announcement to lift the military status of 3.5 per cent of Barossa did not translate into significant changes on the ground in this area during the reporting period, other than clearing vegetation," it adds.
"In the areas of Varosha observed by UNFICYP, activities and changes continued, mainly related to vegetation clearing, development of small infrastructure (e.g. electrical work, road paving, installation of closed-circuit television cameras, street lighting, etc.) and overflights of unmanned aerial commercial aircraft, possibly related to the monitoring of civilian visits," it adds.
With regard to the status of Varosha, UNFICYP "continues to be guided by the relevant Security Council resolutions", it says, noting that on the basis of these "the mission and the Secretariat have repeatedly expressed concern about developments in the enclosed part of the town."
"The United Nations continues to hold the Government of Turkey responsible for the situation in Varosha", it underlines.
Guterres goes on to say that despite the fact that there is a no-fly zone in the buffer zone for non-UN aircraft, "airspace violations, particularly by commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (COTS), have continued to increase during this period."
The UN Secretary General stresses that "education is key to sustainable peace on the island." In this regard, he says, "despite the Security Council's request in its resolution 2587 (2021) that the two leaders address obstacles to peace by conducting a joint assessment of school materials, including textbooks, no steps have been taken by either side in this direction."
According to Antonio Guterres, "lack of progress towards the resumption of formal negotiations continued to create space for new events on the ground and provoked unilateral actions perceived as provocative by the other side". In this context, it says, "UNFICYP encountered significant violations or attempts to violate the Mission Memorandum during the reporting period."
"I note with concern that this trend may result in systematic violations, which would contribute to an already difficult climate between the sides," it adds. As another example of a violation of the Memorandum, he gives the recent enhancement of surveillance technology on both sides of the buffer zone, which was done without consulting UNFICYP.
"I would encourage dialogue between the sides and my Special Representative to explore the idea of not manning the lines of confrontation in exchange for an eventual UN endorsement of surveillance technology that would neither be within the buffer zone nor could see beyond it." it says, expressing the belief that "such a measure would contribute significantly to confidence-building and holds out the prospect of de-escalating tensions in the buffer zone".
The UN Secretary-General also refers to the fact that some incidents in and around the buffer zone "are being used politically and magnified through the media, further increasing tensions and mistrust".
"I condemn such attempts to instrumentalize the situation in the buffer zone and call on both sides to work constructively with UNFICYP to address violations and incidents and refrain from raising further tensions."
Guterres also says he has "repeatedly stressed the importance of the sides refraining from taking unilateral actions that could increase tensions and jeopardize a return to talks, while calling on all sides to engage in dialogue to resolve their differences."
"In this regard, I reiterate my concern about developments in the enclave of Barossa, as well as the lack of response to the latest Security Council resolution 2587 (2021) calling for a reversal of actions implemented since the announcement of the partial reopening of the enclave in October 2020," he added. Further, it "recalls the UNSC resolutions on the Varosha, particularly resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992), and the importance of full compliance with those resolutions, stressing that the UN position on this issue remains unchanged."
Referring to the pandemic, which affected both communities, the UN Secretary-General said that "the Turkish Cypriot community, with an economy that was already struggling before the pandemic, has seen a significant further deterioration in its socio-economic trends this year." It expresses concern because "as a result, the economic gap between the two sides continues to widen, a situation which is likely to increase illegal trafficking through the buffer zone in both directions and ultimately pose an additional obstacle to the peace process".
It also expresses concern "why the gradual lifting of internal and crossing point restrictions has not translated into a significant increase in meaningful communication between the two communities, which have remained largely estranged from each other and focused almost exclusively on internal issues on their respective sides".
The UN Secretary General notes that "with the passage of time and the risk that the communities will drift further apart, supporting people-to-people confidence building and generally encouraging cooperation on issues that affect the daily lives of Cypriots is of fundamental importance."
He calls on "leaders to encourage more direct contact and cooperation between the two communities and to provide tangible support for citizen-to-citizen initiatives, as called for by the Security Council and as evidence of their sincere commitment to a solution."
It recalls that the Security Council has also "repeatedly called on leaders to refrain from using rhetoric that can deepen mistrust between communities, insisting on the importance of improving the public climate and preparing communities for a settlement, at the same time stressing the importance of peace education."
"Most of these pillars of reconciliation, unfortunately, remain to be built," he says."
Mr. Guterres also calls on relevant actors in the region "to exercise restraint and take constructive approaches to resolving their differences. It is important that all sides demonstrate their goodwill and make more efforts to create conditions conducive to a political settlement."
"Despite the current challenges, I encourage the leaders and their representatives to continue dialogue and communication among themselves, including through continued weekly trilateral discussions with my Special Representative/Deputy Special Adviser, as one of the platforms for making progress in building confidence-building measures and resolving outstanding issues on the ground that tend to create tensions."
According to him, "it is also critical as leaders and their representatives provide the technical committees with the political support they need to maintain a constructive dialogue and achieve tangible results."
He also believes that the Green Line Regulation (EC No. 866/2004) should be fully implemented to achieve more economic and social equality between the two sides and to strengthen and deepen economic, cultural and otherwise cooperation, which remains limited.
The UN Secretary-General says that local and international actors continue to face challenges and obstacles in their efforts to promote closer cooperation between the communities in relation to the status of the northern part and "recognition", adding that "while the UN policy on Cyprus is maintained and the decisions of the UNSC on the issue are supported, concerns about recognition should not in themselves be an obstacle to increased cooperation".
He expresses regret that agreement was not reached on the establishment of a direct military contact mechanism and his belief that it would allow the sides to effectively defuse day-to-day tensions in and around the buffer zone, inviting them to consider this proposal with his Special Representative along with other potentially important military confidence-building measures.
In his report, Mr. Guterres expresses serious concern about the issue of asylum seekers and refugees. "While I appreciate the context of regional challenges as well as the large volume of arrivals in Cyprus in proportion to the population, I must recall the critical importance of full compliance with international legal standards in the way asylum seekers and refugees are handled wherever they are found," he notes.
He also encourages continued regular communication between experts from both sides to discuss the issue of irregular migration, under the facilitation of the good offices mission and in the presence of a UNHCR representative on the island, which began in May.
Guterres expressed his gratitude to his former Special Representative to Cyprus Elizabeth Spechar and welcomed Colin Stewart.
Source: Cyprus Times
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