The United Nations is preparing to reduce its peacekeeping personnel by roughly a quarter due to a growing shortage of international funding, a senior UN official announced on Wednesday.
The cuts will affect military, police, and civilian components of UN peacekeeping operations, amounting to around 13,000 to 14,000 personnel based on the organization’s current estimates.
According to the official, the downsizing is a direct result of several member states failing to pay their financial contributions.
The move comes as the UN faces increasing budgetary pressures, with the United States, its largest financial contributor, having previously proposed halting funding for peacekeeping missions.
US President Donald Trump had criticized these operations as costly and ineffective, also calling for an end to US payments to various UN agencies, including the World Health Organization and UNESCO.