The United Nations (UN)General Assembly has approved a $5.38 billion budget for peacekeeping operations for the 2025–2026 fiscal year — a slight decrease from the $5.59 billion allocated for the previous year.
The decision, made on Monday after weeks of negotiations, reflects persistent funding challenges, including cash flow issues that continue to affect mission implementation. The new budget covers 12 active peacekeeping missions, along with logistics bases in Entebbe (Uganda) and Brindisi (Italy), and the central support account for peacekeeping operations.
The General Assembly adopted the budgets without a vote, except for that of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which was approved by 147 member states. Three countries — Israel, the United States, and Argentina — voted against it, while Paraguay abstained. An Israeli-proposed amendment to the UNIFIL budget was rejected by a wide margin.
Despite the budget’s passage, UN Controller Chandramouli Ramanathan raised serious concerns over the UN’s fragile liquidity. “There is not enough cash. No money, no implementation,” he warned. Ramanathan noted that even approved budgets are often subject to sudden cuts of up to 20% due to shortfalls in actual cash contributions.
UN peacekeeping remains one of the organization’s most visible global roles, with nearly 70,000 personnel deployed across missions in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. These include MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MINUSCA in the Central African Republic, and UNFICYP in Cyprus.
Unlike the UN’s regular annual budget, which supports core programs such as human rights and development, the peacekeeping budget follows a July–June cycle and is funded separately.
