Share :

Download PDF :

Ministory of Foreign Affairs of TRNC, Public Information Office (31 January 2026) 

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC), pursuant to its Resolution No. S/RES/2815 (2026), adopted on 30 January 2026, extended the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for one year, until 31 January 2027.

At a time when the legitimacy and credibility of the United Nations system are increasingly subject to scrutiny, the UNSC’s decision to extend the mandate of UNFICYP on the basis of unilateral consent obtained from the so-called “Government of Cyprus,” without the consent of the Turkish Cypriot side and despite our explicit objections, constitutes a serious mistake. This approach disregards the existence and will of the Turkish Cypriot people. To date, the sole reason UNFICYP has been able to continue its activities within the territory of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has been the constructive and good-faith approach of the Turkish Cypriot authorities. Sovereignty within the borders of the TRNC rests exclusively with the Turkish Cypriot people and their State, the TRNC. In this regard, establishing a legitimate legal basis for UNFICYP’s activities in the TRNC through the explicit consent of the Turkish Cypriot side has become an urgent and unavoidable necessity.

UNFICYP, established pursuant to UNSC Resolution 186 of 4 March 1964, has now entered its sixty-second year. Throughout this prolonged period, the Mission has effectively evolved into a de facto guardian of an unsustainable status quo that is acknowledged by all parties, while failing to fulfil its core responsibilities of impartiality and equitable treatment, and failing to exercise the required diligence in this respect.

Click for more