CYPRUS – United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)
In January 2024, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted a decision on the participation of up to 15 members of the Slovenian Armed Forces in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP), allowing for rotations.
The first Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) contingent was deployed to the mission in Cyprus in March 2025. The main body of the six-member contingent consists of members of the contract reserve . The SAF members are integrated into the Slovak contingent, which, alongside the United Kingdom and Argentina, contributes the largest share of the peacekeeping force in the mission.
The SAF's participation in UNFICYP supports the role of the Republic of Slovenia as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and demonstrates its commitment to peaceful settlement of disputes, stabilisation and settlement of the situation in Cyprus.
Slovenia participated in the UNFICYP peacekeeping mission in Cyprus from September 1997 to June 2001, deploying 180 SAF members over four years. They monitored observation posts on the eastern part of the island and the demarcation line between the Greek and Turkish parts of the island. This was the first SAF peacekeeping mission under UN auspices.
In 1964, the UN Security Council, with the consent of the Government of Cyprus, established the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus by Resolution 186, in response to a threat to international peace and security. After 1974, a series of UN Security Council Resolutions extended the mandate of the ceasefire supervision mission to include the implementation of humanitarian activities, the maintenance of a buffer zone between the National Guard of Cyprus and the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot forces. The mandate of UNFICYP is to prevent a recurrence of violence in Cyprus, to contribute to the maintenance of peace and order and to ensure the conditions ensuring normal life and peaceful coexistence for the Cypriot population. The UN Security Council renews the mandate of the mission, which includes over 1 000 troops from twenty-eight countries, on a yearly basis, in accordance with a proposal by the UN Secretary-General.