UN / CYPRUS

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus for another six months and urged the leadership of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities to accelerate the pace of talks aimed at reunification. UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:00:40
• Production Date: 13 June 2011
• Asset Language: Original
• Subject Topical: POLITICAL CONDITIONS; POLITICAL MOVEMENTS; INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; PEACE AND SECURITY
• Geographic Subject: CYPRUS
• MAMS Id: U110613c

Description

STORY: UN / CYPRUS
TRT: 0.40
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: NATS

DATELINE: 13 JUNE 2011, NEW YORK CITY

Shotlist

RECENT 2011, UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters

13 JUNE 2011, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Cutaway, delegates
4. Med shot, President of the Security Council calls for vote
5. Pan left, voting
6. Cutaway, delegates
7. Wide shot, council members leave the Chamber behind

Storyline

The Security Council today (13 Jun) extended the mandate of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for another six months and urged the leadership of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities to accelerate the pace of talks aimed at reunification.

Expressing full support for UNFICYP, the Council unanimously voted to extend its mandate until 15 December this year. The UN has maintained the peacekeeping force on the island since 1964. The force’s current strength is nearly 1,000 uniformed personnel and 150 international and national civilian staff.

In a resolution adopted unanimously, the Council urged the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot leaders to “intensify the momentum of negotiations, engage in the process in a constructive and open manner, and work on reaching convergences on the remaining core issues in preparation for their meeting with the Secretary-General in July 2011.”

The Council echoed the Secretary-General’s view that a solution is well within reach, saying it looked forward to decisive progress in the near future.

The 15-member panel said it was convinced of the many important benefits for all Cypriots accrue from a comprehensive and durable settlement and urged the two sides and their leaders to “foster positive public rhetoric.” It encouraged them to explain the benefits of a settlement, as well as the need for increased flexibility and compromise in order to reach an agreement.

The resolution noted with regret that both sides had withheld access to the remaining minefields in the buffer zone, causing demining work to stop. It called for rapid agreement on facilitating the resumption of demining operations and clearance of the remaining minefields.

The UN has been facilitating talks between the leadership of the two communities with a view to the establishment of a Federal Government with a single international personality, consisting of a Turkish Cypriot Constituent State and a Greek Cypriot Constituent State, each of equal status.