UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo underlined on Thursday the importance of the work of the bicommunal technical committees in Cyprus, speaking at a reception hosted, during her visit on the island, for the Co-Chairs of the committees, whom she assured of the UN’s strong commitment to continue supporting their important work. DiCarlo noted that the technical committees have been an avenue for the sides to interact on issues of mutual concern as well as issues that affect the daily lives of Cypriots, including on the environment, gender equality health, cultural heritage, economy and trade. She also emphasized that their efforts continue to contribute to building trust between the two sides especially in the current political climate. The high-ranking UN official highlighted in her address the uniqueness of the framework of the technical committees in Cyprus. She also noted that other UN political missions working on protracted conflicts in the world often wish to replicate this tool and hope to have a similar mechanism to have parties to a conflict working together to tackle shared challenges for the benefit of all. DiCarlo recalled that the agreement for the establishment of the technical committees was brokered in 2006 by the then UN Under- Secretary -General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, between the Greek Cypriot leader, Tassos Papadopoulos and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat, noting that these committees carry therefore a special meaning for the UN Department for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. Moreover, she told the Co-Chairs of the committees that the longevity enjoyed so far by the committees has been made possible by their personal commitment to the work of the committees. DiCarlo also referred to UN Security Council resolution 2674 by which the Security Council encouraged the leaders to reinvigorate their efforts to provide the necessary support and overall guidance to free the Technical Committees from political obstructions in their work and enable them to function effectively in coordination and cooperation on matters which have island-wide implications. She expressed hope that with the launch of the second phase of the EU funding facility, they would continue to utilize funding to carry out initiatives and projects for the benefit of all Cypriots. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency