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The United Nations will begin slashing its peacekeeping force and operations, forcing thousands of soldiers to evacuate their far-flung global hotspots. The cuts come as a result of the latest US cuts to funding to the international organisation.
A senior UN official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting, briefed journalists on the matter on Wednesday, detailing that 25% of the UN’s peacekeeping force will be reduced in the coming months.
The official said the UN was forced to make those cuts as Washington, the UN’s largest donor, makes changes to align with US President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy.
Roughly 13,000 to 14,000 military and police personnel out of the more than 50,000 peacekeepers deployed across nine global missions will be sent back to their home countries.
The UN plans to reduce the peacekeeping force’s budget by approximately 15% for the upcoming fiscal year, affecting important and longstanding UN missions, including the support office in Somalia.
The countries where the UN has peacekeeping missions include Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus and Kosovo.
Each of the UN’s 193 member countries is legally obliged to pay its share toward peacekeeping.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has argued that with a budget “representing a tiny fraction of global military spending — around one half of one percent — UN peacekeeping remains one of the most effective and cost-effective tools to build international peace and security.”
The decision to overhaul the peacekeeping force — known globally for their distinctive blue berets or helmets — followed a meeting on Tuesday between Guterres and representatives from major donor countries, including Mike Waltz, the new US ambassador to the UN.
Waltz and other Trump administration officials have argued that the organisation’s budget and agencies are bloated and redundant, pledging not to make any further contributions until the US State Department assesses the effectiveness of every single UN agency and programme.
Upon entering his second term in January, Trump ordered a review of the UN and other multilateral institutions, which has already resulted in cutting Washington ties from the UN cultural agency UNESCO, the World Health Organisation and the top UN human rights body, while reassessing its funding for others.
More than 60 offices, agencies and operations of the New York-headquartered organisation are facing 20% job cuts, part of Guterres’ reform effort and reaction to already announced Trump funding cuts.
In a television interview last week on US broadcasters, Waltz said the White House is focused on getting “the UN back to basics of promoting peace, enforcing peace, preventing wars.” He added, “We have to cut out all of this other nonsense.”
The US earlier outlined that it would commit $680 million (€584 million) to nine of those peacekeeping efforts, a significant reduction from the $1 billion (€859 million) payment it had made this time last year.
That funding will be accessible for all active missions, especially those which Washington takes a special interest in, such as peacekeepers in Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Contributions from the US and China make up roughly half of the peacekeeping budget. Another senior UN official said China has indicated it will be paying its full contribution by the end of the year. Beijing is responsible for 20% of the UN’s regular budget as well as roughly 24% of its peacekeeping funding.
Additional sources • AP
