The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of UNFICYP, Ms. Elizabeth Spehar, on 27 May presided over a Medal Presentation ceremony for United Nations Police in Cyprus.
Held at the UN Protected Area within the buffer zone, the event saw 26 UNPOL officers from 12 contingents awarded medals in the service of peace. Speaking at the event, SRSG Spehar said “It’s a special day for these 26 deserving UNPOL officers who receive their medals today, two days prior to International Peacekeepers Day, which is commemorated every year on 29 May. The unprecedented challenges they faced in carrying out their duties during the COVID-19 pandemic embody all the IPD stands for, and we salute them.”
The Senior Police Advisor and Head of the Police Component of UNFICYP is currently Chief Superintendent Fang Li, from China. The United Nations Police in UNFICYP is currently comprised of 62 members, from sixteen different contingents, currently contributed by the following countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina (six), Bulgaria (currently none), China (six), India (four), Ireland (twelve), Italy (four), Jordan (three), Lithuania (one), Montenegro (one), Pakistan (two), Romania (five), Russia, (two), Serbia (two), Slovakia (five), Sweden (two) and Ukraine (seven). From the 62 Police Officers currently deployed to UNFICYP, 24 of them are female. This gives UNPOL an admirable ratio of nearly 39% female officers – a point which the mission is justly proud of.
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