UN officials visit Cyprus to look into contingency planning about UNFICYP

Europe and Latin America Department Director of the UN Peace Operations Department David Harland and the official responsible for Cyprus at the same UN Department are paying a visit to Cyprus this week to look into the contingency planning that needs to be made as regards UNFICYP structure after the settlement of the Cyprus problem.

A UN spokesperson told CNA that the aim of the visit is dual. The first concerns the frequent visits of the Peace Operations Department in Cyprus and the second the fulfillment of the goals assigned to a technical groups of experts by the UN Secretary General, with UN Security Council resolution 1873.

The resolution adopted in May asked the Secretary General to submit a report on implementation of this resolution, including on contingency planning in relation to the settlement, by 1 December 2009 and to keep the Security Council updated on events as necessary.

According to the UN spokesperson, the technical group of experts did not take action “so that there is no negative influence on the current negotiating process.”