UN Secretary General Urges Members to pay More for Peacekeeping

May 15, 2025

(3 Minutes Read)

The United Nations’ peacekeeping department currently leads 11 operations in countries including Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus and Kosovo.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said that the world body’s peacekeeping operation is “only as strong as member states’ commitment to it,” as he pleaded with them to pay their share.

The United Nations’ peacekeeping department currently leads 11 operations in countries including Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus and Kosovo.

The budget for nine of those operations during the fiscal year that ends on June 30 totals USD 5.6 billion, 8.2% lower than a year earlier. Each of the U.N.’s 193 member countries is legally obliged to pay its share toward peacekeeping.

Guterres argued that, with a budget representing a tiny fraction of global military spending — around one half of one per cent — U.N. peacekeeping remains one of the most effective and cost-effective tools to build international peace and security.