Cyprus
The United Nations works through the good offices of the Secretary-General to assist in the search for a comprehensive and mutually acceptable settlement to the Cyprus problem.
The Department of Political Affairs provides staff support and guidance to the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, Alexander Downer, who has facilitated intensive negotiations resumed in September 2008 between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders.
While diplomatic efforts to reunify Cyprus continue, UN peacekeepers exert a stabilizing presence. A United Nations peacekeeping mission, UNFICYP, has been stationed on the Island since 1964.