United Nations Security Council Resolution 1062 – Cyprus

Resolution 1062 (1996)

The Security Council,

Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations operation in Cyprus of 7 June 1996 (S/1996/411 and Corr.1 and Add.1),

Welcoming also the report of the Secretary-General on his Mission of Good Offices in Cyprus of 25 June 1996 (S/1996/467),

Taking note of the recommendation in his report of 7 June 1996 that theSecurity Council extend the mandate of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force inCyprus (UNFICYP),

Noting that the Government of Cyprus has agreed that in view of the prevailing conditions in the island that it is necessary to keep the force in Cyprus beyond 30 June 1996,

Reaffirming its earlier relevant resolutions on Cyprus, and in particular resolutions 186 (1964) of 4 March 1964, 939 (1994) of 29 July 1994 and1032 (1995) of 19 December 1995,

Reiterating its concern that there has been no progress towards a final political solution, and agreeing with the assessment of the Secretary-Generalthat the negotiations have been at an impasse for too long,

Regretting that no progress has been made in introducing measures to prohibit along the cease-fire lines live ammunition or weapons other than thosewhich are hand-held and to prohibit the firing of weapons within sight orhearing of the buffer zone, or in extending the 1989 unmanning agreement,

Expressing concern about the restrictions placed upon the freedom ofmovement of UNFICYP in the northern part of the island, as described in paragraph 27 of the report of the Secretary-General of 7 June 1996,

1. Decides to extend the mandate of UNFICYP for a further period endingon 31 December 1996;

2. Welcomes the appointment of Mr. Han Sung-Joo as the new SpecialRepresentative of the Secretary-General for Cyprus and calls upon both partiesto cooperate fully with him in his efforts to facilitate a comprehensivesettlement of the Cyprus problem;

3. Deplores the tragic incident involving the fatal shooting of a GreekCypriot National Guardsman inside the United Nations buffer zone on 3 June 1996,as well as the hindering by Turkish Cypriot soldiers of UNFICYP personnelattempting to assist the National Guardsman and investigate the incident, asdocumented in the report of the Secretary-General of 7 June 1996;

4. Expresses serious concern about the continuing modernization andupgrading of military forces in the Republic of Cyprus, the excessive levels ofmilitary forces and armaments and the lack of progress towards a significantreduction in the number of foreign troops in the Republic of Cyprus, urges onceagain all concerned to commit themselves to such a reduction and to a reductionin defence spending in the Republic of Cyprus to help restore confidence betweenthe parties and as a first step towards the withdrawal of non-Cypriot forces asdescribed in the set of ideas (S/24472, annex), stresses the importance ofeventual demilitarization of the Republic of Cyprus as an objective in thecontext of an overall comprehensive settlement, and calls upon the Secretary-General to continue to promote efforts in this direction;

5. Expresses serious concern also about recent military exercises in theregion, including overflights in the airspace of Cyprus by military fixed-wingaircraft, which have increased tension;

6. Calls upon the military authorities on both sides:

(a) To respect the integrity of the United Nations buffer zone, ensure that no further incidents occur along the buffer zone, prevent hostile actions,including live fire against UNFICYP, grant UNFICYP complete freedom of movement and extend their full cooperation to UNFICYP;

(b) To enter immediately into discussions with UNFICYP, in line withparagraph 3 of resolution 839 (1993) of 11 June 1993, with a view to adopting reciprocal measures to prohibit along the cease-fire lines live ammunition orweapons other than those which are hand-held and to prohibit also the firing of weapons within sight or hearing of the buffer zone;

(c) To clear all minefields and booby-trapped areas inside the buffer zonewithout further delay, as requested by UNFICYP;

(d) To cease military construction in the immediate vicinity of the bufferzone;

(e) To enter immediately into intensive discussions with UNFICYP with aview to extending the 1989 unmanning agreement to cover all areas of the bufferzone where the two sides are in close proximity to each other, on the basis ofthe updated proposals submitted by the UNFICYP Force Commander in June 1996;

7. Welcomes the measures that have been taken by the two parties inresponse to the humanitarian review conducted by UNFICYP, regrets that theTurkish Cypriot side has not responded more fully to the recommendations made byUNFICYP, calls upon the Turkish Cypriot side to respect fully the basic freedomsof the Greek Cypriots and Maronites living in the northern part of the islandand to intensify its efforts to improve their daily lives, and calls upon theGovernment of Cyprus to continue its efforts to eliminate any discriminationagainst Turkish Cypriots living in the southern part of the island;

8. Welcomes the continuing efforts of the United Nations and diplomaticmissions to promote bicommunal events, regrets the obstacles which have beenplaced in the way of such contacts, and strongly urges all concerned, andespecially the Turkish Cypriot leadership, to lift and prevent all obstacles tosuch contacts;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to keep under review the structure and strength of UNFICYP with a view to its possible restructuring, and to presentany new considerations he may have in this regard;

10. Reiterates that the status quo is unacceptable and calls upon theparties to demonstrate concretely their commitment to an overall politicalsettlement;

11. Stresses its support for the Secretary-General’s mission of goodoffices and the importance of the concerted efforts to work with the Secretary-General towards an overall comprehensive settlement;

12. Urges the leaders of the two communities to respond positively and urgently to the Secretary-General’s call upon them to work with him and with the many countries who support his mission of good offices to break the present impasse and establish common ground on which direct negotiations can be resumed;

13. Recognizes that the decision of the European Union concerning theopening of accession negotiations with Cyprus is an important new developmentthat should facilitate an overall settlement;

14. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report by 10 December 1996on the implementation of the present resolution;

15. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Adopted by the Security Council at its 3675th meeting,on 28 June 1996.