news, latest-news, cyprus, peacekeeping, sally pearce, covid-19
Lockdown is different when you’re living and working in the buffer zone between two opposing forces, responsible for preventing conflict breaking out on an island hit hard by the pandemic. But before she hung up her blue beret this month, that was the life of Major-General Cheryl Pearce, who until last week was leading the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission on Cyprus. “I live in the buffer zone, I operate in the buffer zone,” Major-General Pearce explained before finishing her posting and heading back to Australia. That buffer zone, between Turkish-Cypriot forces in the north of the island, and Greek-Cypriots in the south of the island, is 180 kilometres long. In some places it is up to seven kilometres wide, and in others just four metres – the width of a road. Cyprus is one of the United Nations’ longest-serving peacekeeping missions. It is there that 800 UN peacekeepers from more than 14 nations attempt to engage with the leaders of the opposing forces, prevent outbreaks of fighting, and react to violations of agreements. Cyprus has faced internal struggles between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots since the 1950s, with hostilities breaking out in the late ’50s and throughout the ’60s. The current partition between the north and south dates back to 1974, when a coup d’état by Greek forces was followed by an invasion by Turkish forces. Since then the United Nations has patrolled what is known as the green line, or buffer zone. “The political situation has deteriorated significantly this year, and has deteriorated over time since the last talks in 2017,” Major-General Pearce explains. A contested zone for decades, the current peacekeeping mission on Cyprus is still fulfilling the mandate set in 1974. In some ways, nothing has changed. Each morning Major-General Pearce receives a briefing on the latest flashpoints in the simmering conflict. Problems arising might be illegal farming, or unauthorised constructions. “A buffer zone is not sterile, it’s highly congested and contested, fertile land,” she says. Hailing from South Australia, Major-General Pearce worked her way through Australia’s military ranks before taking on the UN role, starting in the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police in the 1980s. She has served as commander of the Defence Police Training Centre, 1st Military Police Battalion, the Australian Joint Task Force Group in Afghanistan and the Australian Defence Force Academy. While it may seem similar to her previous roles, Major-General Pearce says leading the peacekeeping mission has been unlike any other posting in her career. “All my training and my military career prepared me for Afghanistan,” she says. “Whereas the complexities of the UN and the complexities of a multinational force really highlighted to me that we don’t have common procedures; we are in militaries that are not coalition forces.” Overcoming language barriers and differences in training and approach has been at times a challenge for Major-General Pearce, but she now lists the diversity of the force she has led as a highlight of the posting. “The key piece for me is that we’re all values-based. So for a multinational force, we are a values-based organisation, with a team-oriented approach. “The strength of a multinational force is the diversity and inclusiveness that it provides – they all come from different backgrounds, different thinking and look at the same problem in a different manner.” The effect of the pandemic on the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Cyprus cannot be understated. “COVID has been an external disrupter for the Cyprus problem,” Major-General Pearce says. “All the crossings are closed, and those that are open have very restricted movement between north and south. Communal activities between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots are not occurring. It’s really disrupted coming together to find a solution to the Cyprus problem.” The pandemic has not only complicated the relations between the two opposite parties on Cyprus, but how the peacekeeping forces engage with both communities. It has also meant a mammoth effort has been required to ensure the virus doesn’t rip through the forces living in the buffer zone. Peacekeeping can’t be done over a video call – it must be physical, and it must be in person. “We cannot adjust the way we do business; we have to patrol and we have to engage,” Major-General Pearce says. “We have to be able to observe the buffer zone.” The pandemic has hit Cyprus hard. This month the island entered a new lockdown, just as Major-General Pearce’s tenure ended. The virus has also created flow-on risks when it comes to peacekeeping, with the Turkish forces wanting to pull back, creating a fear of opportunistic incursions. “If you withdraw engagement, we don’t have an understanding of what they’re going to do, we can’t speak to them when they create violations,” Major-General Pearce says. Though boots on the ground remain crucial, peacekeeping liaison officers have also been working particularly hard to engage with people on the island through social media platforms, and other forms of distance engagements. Force preservation measures – ensuring the virus doesn’t prevent a high proportion of the peacekeepers from actually doing the work – are exhaustive. Each team within the force is its own bubble, with each team member only coming in contact with a strictly limited number of others. “We have to ensure the people who are patrolling together eat together, live together and share the same ablutions,” Major-General Pearce explains. This philosophy applies right down to a “lane” system in the ablutions block, where the members of one building use the same toilet, shower and sink. Everything has been thought through. There have been 22 cases of COVID-19 among the peacekeeping forces, including some “patient zeros” who have spread the disease to others in their bubble, but case numbers have remained low. “Whilst we have individuals, we’re not getting big positive numbers. One person is not touching 50 people, they’re only touching four to eight personnel,” Major-General Pearce says. “It’s exhausting. It’s quite hard to do that, to sustain our operations and do that during COVID.” While the pandemic has upended many aspects of the way life is lived in the buffer zone, Major-General Pearce says the main aim of her mission is unchanged since the security zone was created after the conflict of 1974. “Our mandate still remains the same, which is to prevent a recurrence of fighting, and to maintain and try to de-escalate the tensions in and around the buffer zone,” she says. But the way the peacekeeping force goes about its work has had to adapt, in no small part because the number of peacekeepers on the ground has been reduced dramatically over the past 47 years. “We couldn’t go any lower [with numbers of peacekeepers] without changing the mandate,” she says. With only 800 peacekeepers, the force Major-General Pearce has led has had to become more mobile, using a hotspot approach to proactively manage particular areas of tension. “Our approach has changed, but the issues remain the same,” she says. Before COVID-19 hit and Major-General Pearce was confined to Cyprus, her work involved presenting to the United Nations Security Council in New York, both on the challenges and issues involved in modern-day peacekeeping, and on increasing the participation of women in peacekeeping forces. Major-General Pearce says women are essential to peacekeeping missions, and it’s not just about increasing representation for the sake of it. “A lot of missions, especially in Africa, are dealing with ‘protection of civilians’ mandates,” she says. “In many communities [females] are most comfortable speaking to other females.” In those areas where female civilians may have been subject to sexual exploitation and abuse, the presence of women in the UN forces is a valuable asset. “A lot of them had horrific sexual assaults, rapes, and communicating that to a male peacekeeper and how the UN can assist them is often difficult,” she says. Major-General Pearce was just the second woman to lead the peacekeeping force in Cyprus, and for the first time under her leadership, the mission had an all-female leadership team. Women on the force are an “essential element of capability,” she says, not an added bonus. “We need to have an inclusive and diverse workforce, so that we can use and pull on the skills that we will need to be able to communicate, engage and support,” she says. “Some missions are really struggling. They just don’t have enough females to draw upon to do those tasks.” The difficulty in recruiting more women to the UN forces partly stems from the fact some member states have low rates of women in their own forces, meaning there is only a small pipeline to begin with. “Across the missions, we haven’t yet met the targets, but there is a trajectory certainly heading towards that,” Major-General Pearce explains. “There’s been quite a significant improvement in that area. The area that is more difficult, that will require a sustained focus … is in the formed units, and that is females in an infantry unit or in a policing unit.” The Australian government has been proud of the way Major-General Pearce has fulfilled her role, with Defence Minister Linda Reynolds praising her work at the end of her posting. “The involvement of women in peacekeeping operations, especially at senior levels, enhances the prospects of reaching sustainable peace,” Senator Reynolds said. “I commend Major-General Pearce on her efforts in fostering senior leadership dialogue with both Republic of Cyprus and Turkish forces on the island, and I wish her every success in the future.” Following her two weeks quarantine in Australia, Major-General Pearce will spend a few weeks in post-deployment work with debriefs and other administrative functions, before taking some much-needed leave. After that, it’s not clear where her career will take her next. Australia has nominated Major-General Pearce for two more international positions in New York, as a military adviser and deputy military adviser, but the competition for such roles is fierce. She says she is “philosophical” about her chances. But returning to Australia will mean being reunited with her partner after almost a year apart, and seeing her two adult daughters again after even longer. While her partner had been on Cyprus, he returned to Australia in March last year for a health check and was forced to stay when international borders closed. Major-General Pearce explains the situation is similar for her staff, many of whom have been working non-stop since January last year with no break, and no time with their families. Unlike in the first year of her tenure, COVID-19 meant Major-General Pearce couldn’t take leave off the island, meaning there was no mental break from the work at hand. “We’re pretty much in lockdown around work,” she explains. “It has been 24/7 since the end of January for me. I’m digging deep at the moment.”
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Lockdown is different when you’re living and working in the buffer zone between two opposing forces, responsible for preventing conflict breaking out on an island hit hard by the pandemic.
But before she hung up her blue beret this month, that was the life of Major-General Cheryl Pearce, who until last week was leading the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission on Cyprus.
“I live in the buffer zone, I operate in the buffer zone,” Major-General Pearce explained before finishing her posting and heading back to Australia.
That buffer zone, between Turkish-Cypriot forces in the north of the island, and Greek-Cypriots in the south of the island, is 180 kilometres long. In some places it is up to seven kilometres wide, and in others just four metres – the width of a road.
Cyprus is one of the United Nations’ longest-serving peacekeeping missions. It is there that 800 UN peacekeepers from more than 14 nations attempt to engage with the leaders of the opposing forces, prevent outbreaks of fighting, and react to violations of agreements.
Cyprus has faced internal struggles between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots since the 1950s, with hostilities breaking out in the late ’50s and throughout the ’60s. The current partition between the north and south dates back to 1974, when a coup d’état by Greek forces was followed by an invasion by Turkish forces. Since then the United Nations has patrolled what is known as the green line, or buffer zone.
“The political situation has deteriorated significantly this year, and has deteriorated over time since the last talks in 2017,” Major-General Pearce explains.
A contested zone for decades, the current peacekeeping mission on Cyprus is still fulfilling the mandate set in 1974. In some ways, nothing has changed.
Each morning Major-General Pearce receives a briefing on the latest flashpoints in the simmering conflict. Problems arising might be illegal farming, or unauthorised constructions.
“A buffer zone is not sterile, it’s highly congested and contested, fertile land,” she says.
Hailing from South Australia, Major-General Pearce worked her way through Australia’s military ranks before taking on the UN role, starting in the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police in the 1980s. She has served as commander of the Defence Police Training Centre, 1st Military Police Battalion, the Australian Joint Task Force Group in Afghanistan and the Australian Defence Force Academy.
While it may seem similar to her previous roles, Major-General Pearce says leading the peacekeeping mission has been unlike any other posting in her career.
“All my training and my military career prepared me for Afghanistan,” she says.
“Whereas the complexities of the UN and the complexities of a multinational force really highlighted to me that we don’t have common procedures; we are in militaries that are not coalition forces.”
The political situation has deteriorated significantly this year, and has deteriorated over time since the last talks in 2017.
Major-General Cheryl Pearce
Overcoming language barriers and differences in training and approach has been at times a challenge for Major-General Pearce, but she now lists the diversity of the force she has led as a highlight of the posting.
“The key piece for me is that we’re all values-based. So for a multinational force, we are a values-based organisation, with a team-oriented approach.
“The strength of a multinational force is the diversity and inclusiveness that it provides – they all come from different backgrounds, different thinking and look at the same problem in a different manner.”
How COVID-19 has affected the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Cyprus
The effect of the pandemic on the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Cyprus cannot be understated.
“COVID has been an external disrupter for the Cyprus problem,” Major-General Pearce says.
“All the crossings are closed, and those that are open have very restricted movement between north and south. Communal activities between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots are not occurring. It’s really disrupted coming together to find a solution to the Cyprus problem.”
The pandemic has not only complicated the relations between the two opposite parties on Cyprus, but how the peacekeeping forces engage with both communities. It has also meant a mammoth effort has been required to ensure the virus doesn’t rip through the forces living in the buffer zone.
Peacekeeping can’t be done over a video call – it must be physical, and it must be in person.
Major-General Pearce inspects the forces at the buffer zone in Cyprus. Picture: Department of Defence
“We cannot adjust the way we do business; we have to patrol and we have to engage,” Major-General Pearce says.
“We have to be able to observe the buffer zone.”
The pandemic has hit Cyprus hard. This month the island entered a new lockdown, just as Major-General Pearce’s tenure ended. The virus has also created flow-on risks when it comes to peacekeeping, with the Turkish forces wanting to pull back, creating a fear of opportunistic incursions.
“If you withdraw engagement, we don’t have an understanding of what they’re going to do, we can’t speak to them when they create violations,” Major-General Pearce says.
Though boots on the ground remain crucial, peacekeeping liaison officers have also been working particularly hard to engage with people on the island through social media platforms, and other forms of distance engagements.
Force preservation measures – ensuring the virus doesn’t prevent a high proportion of the peacekeepers from actually doing the work – are exhaustive.
There have been 22 cases of COVID-19 in the UN peacekeeping forces on Cyprus, but extensive measures are being taken to prevent its spread. Picture: Department of Defence
Each team within the force is its own bubble, with each team member only coming in contact with a strictly limited number of others.
“We have to ensure the people who are patrolling together eat together, live together and share the same ablutions,” Major-General Pearce explains.
This philosophy applies right down to a “lane” system in the ablutions block, where the members of one building use the same toilet, shower and sink. Everything has been thought through.
There have been 22 cases of COVID-19 among the peacekeeping forces, including some “patient zeros” who have spread the disease to others in their bubble, but case numbers have remained low.
“Whilst we have individuals, we’re not getting big positive numbers. One person is not touching 50 people, they’re only touching four to eight personnel,” Major-General Pearce says.
“It’s exhausting. It’s quite hard to do that, to sustain our operations and do that during COVID.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same
While the pandemic has upended many aspects of the way life is lived in the buffer zone, Major-General Pearce says the main aim of her mission is unchanged since the security zone was created after the conflict of 1974.
“Our mandate still remains the same, which is to prevent a recurrence of fighting, and to maintain and try to de-escalate the tensions in and around the buffer zone,” she says.
But the way the peacekeeping force goes about its work has had to adapt, in no small part because the number of peacekeepers on the ground has been reduced dramatically over the past 47 years.
“We couldn’t go any lower [with numbers of peacekeepers] without changing the mandate,” she says.
With only 800 peacekeepers, the force Major-General Pearce has led has had to become more mobile, using a hotspot approach to proactively manage particular areas of tension.
“Our approach has changed, but the issues remain the same,” she says.
The ongoing effort for more women in peacekeeping
Before COVID-19 hit and Major-General Pearce was confined to Cyprus, her work involved presenting to the United Nations Security Council in New York, both on the challenges and issues involved in modern-day peacekeeping, and on increasing the participation of women in peacekeeping forces.
Major-General Pearce says women are essential to peacekeeping missions, and it’s not just about increasing representation for the sake of it.
“A lot of missions, especially in Africa, are dealing with ‘protection of civilians’ mandates,” she says.
“In many communities [females] are most comfortable speaking to other females.”
In those areas where female civilians may have been subject to sexual exploitation and abuse, the presence of women in the UN forces is a valuable asset.
“A lot of them had horrific sexual assaults, rapes, and communicating that to a male peacekeeper and how the UN can assist them is often difficult,” she says.
The presence of women in peacekeeping forces is often vital to their success. Picture: Department of Defence
Major-General Pearce was just the second woman to lead the peacekeeping force in Cyprus, and for the first time under her leadership, the mission had an all-female leadership team.
Women on the force are an “essential element of capability,” she says, not an added bonus.
“We need to have an inclusive and diverse workforce, so that we can use and pull on the skills that we will need to be able to communicate, engage and support,” she says.
“Some missions are really struggling. They just don’t have enough females to draw upon to do those tasks.”
The difficulty in recruiting more women to the UN forces partly stems from the fact some member states have low rates of women in their own forces, meaning there is only a small pipeline to begin with.
“Across the missions, we haven’t yet met the targets, but there is a trajectory certainly heading towards that,” Major-General Pearce explains.
“There’s been quite a significant improvement in that area. The area that is more difficult, that will require a sustained focus … is in the formed units, and that is females in an infantry unit or in a policing unit.”
The highs, the lows, and what’s next
The Australian government has been proud of the way Major-General Pearce has fulfilled her role, with Defence Minister Linda Reynolds praising her work at the end of her posting.
“The involvement of women in peacekeeping operations, especially at senior levels, enhances the prospects of reaching sustainable peace,” Senator Reynolds said.
“I commend Major-General Pearce on her efforts in fostering senior leadership dialogue with both Republic of Cyprus and Turkish forces on the island, and I wish her every success in the future.”
Following her two weeks quarantine in Australia, Major-General Pearce will spend a few weeks in post-deployment work with debriefs and other administrative functions, before taking some much-needed leave.
After that, it’s not clear where her career will take her next.
Major-General Pearce has been unable to return to Australia since the start of the pandemic. Picture: Department of Defence
Australia has nominated Major-General Pearce for two more international positions in New York, as a military adviser and deputy military adviser, but the competition for such roles is fierce. She says she is “philosophical” about her chances.
But returning to Australia will mean being reunited with her partner after almost a year apart, and seeing her two adult daughters again after even longer.
While her partner had been on Cyprus, he returned to Australia in March last year for a health check and was forced to stay when international borders closed.
Major-General Pearce explains the situation is similar for her staff, many of whom have been working non-stop since January last year with no break, and no time with their families.
Unlike in the first year of her tenure, COVID-19 meant Major-General Pearce couldn’t take leave off the island, meaning there was no mental break from the work at hand.
“We’re pretty much in lockdown around work,” she explains.
“It has been 24/7 since the end of January for me. I’m digging deep at the moment.”
