United Nations peacekeeping missions face budget cuts

United Nations peacekeeping operations face significant instability due to budget reductions. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has been forced to implement 15% budget cuts across active missions, resulting in a 25% reduction in military and police capacity.

The primary cause for these constraints is the refusal of U.S. President Donald Trump to meet his country's financial commitments to the organization. Trump has criticized the UN, describing it as an organization of “globalist bureaucrats” with a “leftist agenda.”

Retired Uruguayan General Marcelo Montaner, president of the Association of Peace Operations Veterans of Uruguay (AVOPU), highlighted the critical role of these missions through his experience with MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Montaner noted that during his deployment in 2003, UN forces were essential in restoring authority and security in regions where local institutions like the police and judiciary had collapsed.