On Sunday, the world celebrated International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. As we previously blogged, United Nations peacekeeping missions are critical to global peace and security. Since UN missions come with shared risks and expenses, they also represent an investment in cost-saving and risk reduction for the United States. Despite the benefits, there are still members of Congress working to prevent the U.S. from paying its dues to the UN. Learn more below and take action to support UN peacekeeping.

UNMIS Troops Prepare to Patrol Town of Abyei, in Sudan (UN Photo/Stuart Price)

Shared Risks

More than half of the countries in the world share the risks associated with UN peacekeeping missions. Personnel for missions come from 115 different countries. As of April 2011, the top five troop contributing countries (TCCs) were Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Nigeria and Egypt. The top ten TCCs make up almost 60% of all UN peacekeepers. In comparison the United States ranks number 61 with 110 personnel deployed (0.1%). U.S. personnel primarily serve in police and expert roles, even further limiting risks. The U.S. only has contingent troops in Haiti (13) and Lebanon (5).

Shared Expenses

For 2011-2012, the United States has agreed to pay 27.14% of UN peacekeeping missions. In considering this percentage, it’s important to keep in mind how much the U.S. would be spending if it were to conduct similar missions on its own. Additionally, it should be noted that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is responsible for authorizing all UN peacekeeping missions. Since the U.S. has veto power on the UNSC, a peacekeeping mission can only be approved with support from the United States.

In 2006, a nonpartisan report from the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) compared the cost of U.S. contributions to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) to the cost of a hypothetical deployment of U.S. forces. The GAO report found that the cost of the entire UN mission for its first fourteen months was nearly half as expensive as a comparable U.S. mission would have been. Further–because the costs of MINUSTAH are shared by various countries–the UN mission was estimated to cost the U.S. more than 13 times less.

Challenges: Congress and Funding for UN Peacekeeping

The U.S. pays our share of UN peacekeeping through the Contributions to Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA) account of the federal budget. Despite the fact that United Nations peacekeeping is a critical investment in global peace and security, there are hurdles that handicap the ability of the U.S. to pay our agreed upon contribution.

House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) speaks at a April 2011 hearing on the UN where she suggests the U.S. should withhold funding. (HFAC Photo)

Peacekeeping Cap

Congress has legislated a peacekeeping cap at 25%, which currently amounts to a funding gap of 2.14%. Until there is a permanent repeal, Congress must take action each appropriations cycle to temporarily lift the cap. In years past, Congress had failed to take this step which resulted in millions of dollars in arrears. Since the United Nations cannot borrow money, it meant that TCCs (that had put the lives of their military and police personnel on the line) weren’t able to pay salaries. Fortunately the United States took action in 2009 to pay off the accumulated arrears, but the peacekeeping cap still exists.

Current Fiscal Climate

Given the current fiscal climate, there will be difficulty in ensuring that the peacekeeping cap is waived this year so that the U.S. can pay our full obligation. Further, the President’s budget request for the 2012 fiscal year (which was made in February of 2011) is $225 million less than will be needed to pay the U.S. contribution assessed at $2.145 billion. As Congress looks to make severe cuts to the entire international affairs account (which includes CIPA funding), we will need your help to ensure that the U.S. meets its obligation and provides full financial support for the UN peacekeeping missions in Sudan, Darfur, Congo and elsewhere around the world.

Take Action to Support UN Peacekeeping

• Need some inspiration? Watch this video from our friends at the Better World Campaign featuring George Clooney.
• Write a brief note to your representative. You can connect with your representative here. Simply enter your zip code and then click on the envelop icon. Ask your representative to support $2.14 billion in funding for United Nations Peacekeeping missions that further global peace and security.
• Send a thank you letter to those serving as UN peacekeepers.