Trump Administration Proposes Scrapping UN Peacekeeping Funding

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

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WASHINGTON -

The US is the UN's largest contributor, accounting for 22 percent of the US$3.7 billion (S$4.9 billion) core regular UN budget and 27 percent of the US$5.6 billion 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 Oct. 1. The overall plan is to slash the State Department budget by about half.

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