UN Members Approve $5.1 Billion Peacekeeping Budget, Locking In Over $1 Billion in Cuts
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 19
UN Members Approve $5.1 Billion Peacekeeping Budget, Locking In Over $1 Billion in Cuts
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 19
Summary
$5.1 billion was approved by all 193 U.N. member states for the next peacekeeping budget on June 30, cutting spending by about $550 million, or 9.7%, from the prior year.
That reduction, combined with a 15% cut to the U.N.'s regular budget approved in December, brings assessed-budget cuts over six months to more than $1 billion, which both U.S. and U.N. officials called unprecedented.
A separate General Assembly vote also changed how unused budget credits are returned: for a four-year trial, refunds will go out only when backed by cash actually received, replacing a system António Guterres called a "Kafkaesque cycle."
U.S. Ambassador Jeff Bartos said the cash-based rule could save the U.N. more than $1 billion over the next three years and framed it as part of a broader Trump administration push on efficiency.
The cuts land as the U.N. faces financial strain and a 2027 leadership transition, with Washington signaling staff pay, benefits and pensions are next targets for reform.