Women between War and Peace in Cyprus: e security sector as the missing link

The document examines the progress and deficits of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) framework in Cyprus. While it notes success in promoting female participation in civil society and informal peace processes, it highlights a systemic failure to address 'hard' security and defence issues. The authors argue that both the Republic of Cyprus's National Action Plan and the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) over-rely on the participation pillar, leaving core security functions unaddressed and creating a disconnect between civil society activists and government policymakers.

• The Republic of Cyprus (RoC) launched its first Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan (WPS NAP) for 2021-2025, but it primarily focuses on the participation pillar and lacks a clear strategy for the security dimension.
• UNFICYP has achieved high levels of female representation in leadership and uniformed roles across military, police, and civilian sectors, yet it has failed to translate this into the operationalization of a holistic WPS framework for security and defence institutions.
• Women's participation in the Cyprus peace process is more robust in informal or unofficial capacities than in official negotiating roles with the state or relevant ministries.
• The de facto state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) largely ignores the conversation on gender and security, and its leadership does not officially endorse the renewal of the UNFICYP mandate.
• There is a notable lack of a communication bridge between UNFICYP and government institutions regarding gender and security, with most UN engagement limited to civil society organizations.

APA

Hornyák, V., & Petrikkos, P. (2022). Women between War and Peace in Cyprus: e security sector as the missing link. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/eeb2e7ac-8220-47f2-99a1-e721219bbbbb/03 2022 Women between War and Peace in Cyprus.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Hornyák, Veronika, and Petros Petrikkos. Women between War and Peace in Cyprus: e security sector as the missing link. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2022. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/eeb2e7ac-8220-47f2-99a1-e721219bbbbb/03 2022 Women between War and Peace in Cyprus.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hornyák |first1=Veronika |last2=Petrikkos |first2=Petros |title=Women between War and Peace in Cyprus: e security sector as the missing link |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=2022 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/eeb2e7ac-8220-47f2-99a1-e721219bbbbb/03 2022 Women between War and Peace in Cyprus.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hornyk2022women, author = {Hornyák, Veronika and Petrikkos, Petros}, title = {{Women between War and Peace in Cyprus: e security sector as the missing link}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2022}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/eeb2e7ac-8220-47f2-99a1-e721219bbbbb/03 2022 Women between War and Peace in Cyprus.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }