UN peacekeeping under threat as US proposes funding cuts

The White House budget office has proposed eliminating funding for UN peacekeeping missions, citing failures by operations in Mali, Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to internal planning documents seen by Reuters.

Washington is the UN’s largest contributor — with China second — accounting for 22% of the $3.7bn (R69.93bn) regular UN budget and 27% of the $5.6bn peacekeeping budget. These payments are mandatory.

The proposed peacekeeping cuts are included in a so-called “Passback”, the response by the office of management and budget (OMB) to state department funding requests for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on October 1. The overall plan wants to slash the state department budget by about half.

The new budget must be approved by Congress and legislators could decide to restore some or all of the funding the administration has proposed cutting.

The state department was due to respond to the OMB proposal on Tuesday. During US President Donald Trump’s first term he proposed cutting about a third of diplomacy and aid budgets. But Congress, which sets the federal government budget, pushed back on Trump's proposal.

“There is no final plan, final budget,” state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the OMB proposals.

The OMB has proposed ending Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities (Cipa).

“For example, Passback provides no funding for Cipa, ending contributions for international peacekeeping due to the recent failures in peacekeeping, such as with Minusma (UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali), Unifil (UN Interim Force in Lebanon), and Monusco (UNs Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) and the disproportionately high level of assessments,” according to an excerpt from the Passback.

The UN peacekeeping budget funds nine missions in Mali, Lebanon, DRC, South Sudan, Western Sahara, Cyprus, Kosovo, between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Abyei, an administrative area that is jointly run by South Sudan and Sudan.

The OMB Passback also proposed the creation of a $2.1bn (R36.69bn) America First Opportunities Fund (A1OF), which it said would be used to cover a limited set of foreign economic and development assistance priorities.

“Should the administration seek to pay any assessments for the UN regular budget or peacekeeping assessments, we would look to provide that funding from the A1OF,” read the OMB Passback.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric declined to comment on “what appears to be a leaked memo that is part of an internal debate within the US government”.

The US owes — for arrears and this fiscal year — nearly $1.5bn for the regular UN budget and nearly $1.2bn for the peacekeeping budget. A country can be up to two years in arrears before facing the possible repercussion of losing its vote in the 193-member General Assembly.

UN secretary-general António Guterres last month said he was seeking ways to improve efficiency and cut costs as the world body turns 80 this year amid a cash crisis.

Reuters