UN peacekeeping forces to be cut 25% due to budget strains, official says

US President Donald Trump speaks to the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly on September 23 in New York City. Photo / Getty Images

The United Nations will be forced to reduce its peacekeeping forces worldwide by around 25% due to a lack of funding, largely linked to United States aid cuts, a senior UN official said today.

About 13,000 to 14,000 military and police personnel, as well as their equipment, will have to be repatriated, the official said on condition of anonymity, with “a large number of civilian staff in missions” also to be affected.

The US was expected to contribute US$1.3 billion of the total US$5.4b budget for 2025-2026 peacekeeping operations.

But it has now informed the UN that it will only pay around half the amount, or US$682 million - which includes US$85m earmarked for a new international anti-gang mission in Haiti that was not in the original budget.

China is expected to contribute US$1.2b to the peacekeeping budget, which had US$2b in unpaid contributions as of July.

Of its total budget, the UN now expects a shortfall of 16% to 17% in the current peacekeeping budget.

US President Donald Trump has long claimed that international institutions have taken advantage of the US and has overseen massive cuts to US foreign aid since his return to the White House in January.

“We know that there will be consequences in terms of monitoring ceasefires, protection of civilians, working with the humanitarians, or other peacekeeping activities,” the official said.

The 25% reduction in troops will be spread across nine of the 11 peacekeeping missions, which had already developed contingency plans for potential budget cuts, the official said.

The UN has peacekeepers deployed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, southern Lebanon, Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Western Sahara, among other places.

The announcement “potentially means a significant reduction in protection for things like humanitarian convoys and the civilians who rely on aid”, Louis Charbonneau of Human Rights Watch told AFP.

“We hope the UN will prioritise lifesaving humanitarian and human rights activities,” he added.

Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group said the cuts’ impact on the ground “will vary case by case”.

“In somewhere like South Sudan, where peacekeepers offer many civilians a little protection and there was nearly a new war this year, cutting back peacekeepers sends a very bad signal.”

-Agence France-Presse