Pride and Prejudice: The Failure of UN Peace Brokering Efforts in Cyprus

Authors : Olga CAMPBELLTHOMSON

Pages : 59-82

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Publication Date : 2014-07-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :During the five decades of its involvement in the infamous ‘Cyprus problem’, the United Nations UN has undertaken several largescale attempts to lead the process of conflict resolution, however, the UN’s mediation has failed to produce a settlement on the island. The issue at the heart of the conflict, political inequality, remains the major stumbling block. This block is firmly and consistently embedded in the UN’s successive resolutions on Cyprus which continue to sustain the status of inequality and thus, perpetuate the problem. By drawing attention to the roots of the current conflict in Cyprus, and to the UN’s positioning in the conflict, this article challenges the UN’s myopic policy towards Cyprus. It is argued that the UN’s partiality protracts the conflict, and that attempts to reach a workable solution are deemed improbable as long as the UN’s stance on Cyprus remains uncontested
Keywords : Cyprus conflict, UN mediation, UN policy towards Cyprus, peace keeping, peace making