Resolution 186 of 4 March 1964: How One Security Council Text Set the Status of the 'Government of Cyprus'

Why It Matters

Resolution 186, adopted on 4 March 1964, is the Security Council text that launched UN peacekeeping in Cyprus and, in doing so, spoke of 'the Government of Cyprus' as the party that consents to the force and bears responsibility for law and order. The text never says who sits in that government or whether it still complied with the 1960 constitution. Ankara argues that this silence, in practice, handed one community the state's international voice, while Greek Cypriot and UN sources read the same words as ordinary recognition of an existing UN member.

Background

The resolution answers a constitutional collapse, not an abstract dispute. The 1959 Zurich and London Agreements produced the 1960 Republic of Cyprus as a bi-communal partnership state, backed by the Treaty of Guarantee (Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom as guarantors).

The 1960 constitutional order

The 1960 constitution gave the presidency to a Greek Cypriot and the vice-presidency to a Turkish Cypriot, each elected by his own community. The Council of Ministers was composed of seven Greek Cypriot and three Turkish Cypriot ministers, and the Vice-President held a veto over foreign affairs, defence and security. The 'basic articles' were designed to be unamendable. Article II of the Treaty of Guarantee bars both union with another state and partition, and Article IV allows each guarantor, if concerted action fails, to act 'with the sole aim of re-establishing the state of affairs' created by the treaty. For the wider framework, see our guide to The Cyprus Charter.

The December 1963 breakdown

On 30 November 1963, Archbishop Makarios proposed 13 constitutional amendments that would, among other things, remove the Vice-President's veto. The Turkish Cypriot leadership and Türkiye rejected them in December. On 21 December 1963 ('Bloody Christmas'), intercommunal violence erupted. Turkish Cypriot sources and Ankara describe it as the execution of the so-called Akritas Plan. Roughly 30,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced from about 103 villages, and Turkish Cypriot ministers, civil servants and judges ceased to take part in the state. Nicosia was divided by the 'Green Line' on 30 December 1963.

Timeline to the resolution

What Resolution 186 actually says

The operative paragraphs are short, and the legal debate turns on a few phrases:

• Restraint: it calls on all Member States to refrain from action or threats likely to worsen the situation in 'the sovereign Republic of Cyprus'.
• Law and order: it asks 'the Government of Cyprus, which has the responsibility for the maintenance and restoration of law and order,' to take all additional measures needed to stop violence and bloodshed.
• Communities: it calls on the communities and their leaders to act with the utmost restraint.
• Force: it recommends a UN peacekeeping force, created 'with the consent of the Government of Cyprus', whose size and composition the Secretary-General fixes after consulting Cyprus, Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.
• Mediator: it recommends that the Secretary-General designate a mediator to promote a peaceful solution, in agreement with the parties.

The preamble records the Council's awareness of the parties' differing positions on the 1960 treaties. It does not rule on them. Nowhere does the text pronounce on whether the post-December 1963 administration was the constitutional government.

Key Players & Positions

Each side reads the same text through its own documents.

Greek Cypriot administration

The Greek Cypriot side, speaking through the Republic of Cyprus's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its UN statements, holds that the Republic of Cyprus is a UN member with continuous legal personality, and that the Council simply dealt with its government. It relies on the 1964 Supreme Court ruling in Attorney-General v. Ibrahim, which applied a 'doctrine of necessity' to justify the functioning of the state after the Turkish Cypriot officials stopped attending. It also argues that Turkish Cypriot officials withdrew at the direction of their leadership, rather than being expelled.

The UN Secretariat and Security Council

The UN has consistently treated the Republic of Cyprus as the member state and has repeatedly renewed UNFICYP with reference to the consent of the 'Government of Cyprus'. In its later practice, however, the Council has described the island's two communities as politically equal. Resolution 1251 (1999) speaks of a settlement with 'a single sovereignty and international personality and a single citizenship' comprising 'two politically equal communities' in a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation. Resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984) declared the TRNC declaration of 15 November 1983 legally invalid, and the UN does not recognise the TRNC.

Turkish Cypriot leadership and Greece

The Turkish Cypriot leadership argued in 1964, and later, that Turkish Cypriots were being excluded by force from a constitutional partnership. Greece, as a guarantor, supported the Cypriot government's position at the Council. The United Kingdom, the third guarantor and a Council member, stressed restraint, the Treaties and the need for a peacekeeping presence.

Source Comparison

The disagreement is less about the words of the resolution than about what those words imply.

International media often summarise the resolution as the Council 'recognising the Cyprus government'. Ankara's reading, and the plain text, show a narrower act: it recommended a peacekeeping force with the consent of the government of a member state, and asked that government to restore order. Readers can compare the original wording with our Editorial Principles, which explain how we separate text, argument and official position.

Sister publications cover the wider debate on Council practice and legitimacy, for example The Global Anatomy and Political Ledger.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Resolution 186 (1964): The 4 March 1964 Security Council text that recommended UNFICYP and a mediator and addressed 'the Government of Cyprus'.
• UNFICYP: The UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, operating since 27 March 1964.
• Government of Cyprus: The phrase used in the resolution, which is not defined in the text.
• Treaty of Guarantee (1960): The treaty under which Türkiye, Greece and the UK guarantee the independence, territorial integrity and constitutional order of Cyprus.
• Doctrine of necessity: The Cypriot court doctrine invoked in 1964 to justify state functioning without Turkish Cypriot officials.
• Bi-communal, bi-zonal federation: The settlement model used in UN texts since the 1970s.

Related reading: The Cyprus Charter, The Nomos of the Sea on why Turkish Cypriot status also matters for offshore rights, and About Kosmonomos.

Perspective note: This article reflects Kosmonomos's editorial perspective, which presents and defends Türkiye's official legal and strategic positions on the issues discussed. Claims are anchored wherever possible in primary sources such as treaty texts, UN documents, and archival records, which are cited so that readers can verify them independently. Kosmonomos presents global affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy as stated by Turkish government sources. Author: Kosmonomos Editorial Team.