Country Summary

The Republic of Cyprus is contaminated by antipersonnel and antivehicle landmines. Since 1974, following Turkish forces’ operations in the north, the island has been divided geographically and politically by what was once a heavily mined, 180km-long buffer zone. Mines were laid by both the Greek Cypriot National Guard and the Turkish Armed Forces.

Since July 2013, Cyprus has reported that no antipersonnel mines remain in the minefields laid by the National Guard on territory under its effective control.[1] However, mine contamination remains in the buffer zone and in the Turkish-Cypriot controlled areas.

Since July 2016, mine action operations in Cyprus have been coordinated by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) on behalf of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).[2] However, United Nations (UN) demining capacity in Cyprus was demobilized on 20 November 2017, after the breakdown of UN-facilitated settlement talks in July 2017 which resulted in no further access being granted to suspected hazardous areas (SHAs).[3] UNFICYP has retained a technical capacity and non-technical survey contingency to conduct new activities when access is permitted.[4]

In February 2019, meetings between the Greek Cypriot leadership and Turkish Cypriot leadership recommenced, and the clearance of hazardous areas was discussed, among other topics.[5] This resulted to the release of 18 SHAs through survey by UNFICYP in 2019, although no antipersonnel mines were reported cleared. No clearance or survey was conducted in 2020.[6]

Treaty Status

Treaty status overview

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline extension requests

Cyprus reported clearing all antipersonnel landmines in contaminated areas which it accepted were under its control within 10 years of becoming a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty, by 1 July 2013. Yet Cyprus has requested three extensions to its Article 5 deadline, each for a period of three years. Its current deadline is 1 July 2022. The reason provided by Cyprus for needing the extensions is that antipersonnel mines remain in territory occupied by Turkish forces, which it is unable to clear.[7] Cyprus submitted a fourth extension request in 2021 for another three-year period, to 1 July 2025.[8] A decision on the request will be made at the Nineteenth Meeting of States Parties, in November 2021.

Turkey also submitted an Article 5 deadline extension request in 2021, requesting an extension of three years and nine months, until 31 December 2025. However, Turkey’s extension request does not include plans for mine clearance in the Turkish-occupied areas of Cyprus.[9]

Management and Coordination

Mine action

Mine action management and coordination overview[10]

UNMAS supports the UNFICYP mission to safely maintain the ceasefire and the integrity of the UN buffer zone in Cyprus. Since 2016, UNMAS has provided UNFICYP with expertise on mine action planning and coordination, operational demining capacity (in 2016–2017), data management, and quality assurance.[11]

In 2020, UNMAS supported mine action planning and coordination; maintained and monitored minefield fencing in the buffer zone; and provided technical guidance and advice on explosive ordnance and ammunition management. Risk education training was provided to military, civilian, and police personnel to ensure their protection and facilitate the delivery of their mandate.[12]

UNFICYP and UNMAS both use the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database, which was updated in 2020.

Risk education

There is no national risk education management or coordination in Cyprus. UNMAS provides risk education to peacekeepers.[13]

Victim assistance

There is no specific program for assistance to victims of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in Cyprus. The Department for Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, within the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, serves as the focal point for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).[14] The department coordinated the preparation of the National Strategy on Disability 2017–2027 and the second National Disability Action Plan 2017–2020.

Impact

Contamination

Contamination (as of December 2020)[15]

Note: CHA=confirmed hazardous area; SHA=suspected hazardous area; ERW=explosive remnants of war.

* Contaminated areas are reported to contain both antivehicle and antipersonnel mines.

Landmine contamination

The full extent of remaining antipersonnel mine contamination across the island is not known, and permission for UNFICYP to access areas outside of the buffer zone remains limited.[16]

Cyprus has reported that no antipersonnel landmines remain in minefields laid by the National Guard on territory under its effective control.[17] Cyprus cleared the final minefield of the National Guard, near Potamia village, in 2013.[18]

In the buffer zone, UNMAS has recorded four mined areas, whereas the Article 7 report submitted by Cyprus for 2020 reported only one mined area in the buffer zone, located in an area controlled by Turkish forces close to the village of Deryneia.[19] Cyprus considers three of these minefields to be under its control and not within the buffer zone, and has reported that these minefields contain only antivehicle mines.[20] In December 2017, UNFICYP reported that three of the mined areas are contaminated with antivehicle mines, but that they are located within the buffer zone. The type of contamination in the fourth mined area was reported by UNMAS to be unknown.[21]

The full extent of antipersonnel landmine contamination in areas controlled by Turkish forces is unknown. In its Article 7 report for 2020, Cyprus claimed that 21 minefields laid by Turkish forces are yet to be cleared of antipersonnel mines, including the one mined area within the buffer zone, in the vicinity of Deryneia.[22] Cyprus reports that the exact size of these areas is not known, while it is also unknown whether they contain mine types other than antipersonnel mines.[23]

The National Guard also laid 28 minefields north of Nicosia, towards the Pentadaktylos mountain range, which are located in Turkish-occupied areas. Cyprus reported that these minefields include 1,006 antipersonnel mines, and that details of the 28 minefields were given to UNFICYP in May 2015.[24] Cyprus reported that following a UNMAS assessment, these minefields were accepted as free from mines.[25]

According to UNMAS, some military landmine clearance appears to have been conducted in most locations still recorded as minefields.[26]

Casualties

Casualties overview

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

The last reported mine/ERW casualty in Cyprus was in September 2015, when a farmer driving a tractor detonated a landmine.[27] Prior to that incident, a casualty occurred in 2009, when a deminer was killed by an antivehicle mine during clearance activities.[28]

Addressing the Impact

Mine action

Clearance operators

The National Guard and Turkish Cypriot Security Force both cooperate with UNMAS to conduct survey.[29]

Land release

Land release overview[30]

In 2017, UNFICYP undertook a thorough review of all electronic and hardcopy minefield database documentation, which resulted in a reduction in the recorded number of SHAs from 67 to 47, and a reduction in the overall total SHA from 3.1km² to just over 1.7km².[31]

A January 2018 report of the UN Secretary General noted the completion of the outstanding non-technical surveys of 25 legacy minefields.[32] This is also noted in the Article 7 report submitted by Cyprus for 2020, which stated that after a UNMAS assessment, these minefields are considered free from contamination.[33]

In December 2019, UNFICYP announced the release of 18 SHAs; nine on each side of the buffer zone and amounting to 0.21km². The land was released through survey conducted by the Cyprus National Guard and Turkish Cypriot Security Force in coordination with UNFICYP and UNMAS, and was conducted as a confidence-building measure agreed by the leaders of Cyprus and Turkey as part of ongoing discussions towards a political settlement.[34] No antipersonnel landmines were reported cleared.

No survey or clearance was undertaken in Cyprus in 2020.[35]

Risk education

UNMAS reported that 1,129 UN peacekeepers in Cyprus received mine risk education in 2020.[36]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNMAS used online training to provide risk education to over 800 personnel from the peacekeeping mission.[37]

UNMAS continued to work on the launch of the United Nations Safe Ground campaign in Cyprus; part of the global UN campaign to turn minefields into playing fields to bring communities together and to raise awareness and resources for mine/ERW victims. Land intended for use via this project has been identified adjacent to the buffer zone, and it is anticipated it will increase confidence in the peace and reunification process in 2021.[38]

UNMAS also supports the establishment and maintenance of minefield marking as needed.[39]

Victim assistance

There are no victim assistance programs for mine/ERW survivors in Cyprus.