United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus

United Nations
Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus

UNFICYP peacekeepers patrolling the buffer zone.
Abbreviation	UNFICYP
Formation	1964
Type	Peacekeeping force
Legal status	Active
Headquarters	Blue Beret Camp, Nicosia International Airport
Head	Elizabeth Spehar (Canada), Head of Mission & Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus[1] Major General Ingrid Gjerde (Norway), Force Commander. Assistant Police Commissioner Satu Koivu (Finland), Senior Police Adviser.
Parent organization	Department of Peacekeeping Operations
Website	UNFICYP Home page

The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is a United Nations peacekeeping force that was established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting following intercommunal violence between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order and to facilitate a return to normal conditions.^[2] Major General Ingrid Gjerde is the current Force Commander of UNFICYP, appointed in 2021, and preceded by Cheryl Pearce (Australia).^[3] Assistant Police Commissioner Satu Koivu (Finland) is the current Senior Police Adviser appointed in 2021.

Following the 1974 Greek Cypriot coup d'état and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the United Nations Security Council extended and expanded the mission to prevent the dispute turning into war, and UNFICYP was redeployed to patrol the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus and assist in the maintenance of the military status quo. Since its establishment, the force has also worked in concert with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and representatives of the two communities to seek an amicable diplomatic solution to the Cyprus dispute.

Initially, UNFICYP consisted of military and civilian contingents drawn from Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. However, over its long history the force has been the subject of various UNSC resolutions and reorganisations, and currently comprises contingents from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, El Salvador, Ghana, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Peru, Serbia, Slovakia, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

As of 2018, the mission has a strength of 1,009.^[4] The mandate for UNFICYP was last renewed on 30 January 2024 and extended until 31 January 2025.^[5]