Trump government proposes to eliminate UN peacekeeping funding

The White House Budget Office proposed the end of financing for United Nations Peace Maintenance Missions, citing the failures of Operations in Mali, Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, showed internal planning documents seen by Reuters.

Washington is the UN’s largest contributor – with China in second place – accounting for 22% of the US $ 3.7 billion from the United Nations regular budget and 27% of the US $ 5.6 billion from the Peace Maintenance Budget. These payments are mandatory.

The cuts proposed for peacekeeping are included in the so -called Passback, response from the Management and Budget Office (OMB) to state department financing requests for next fiscal year, which starts on October 1st. The general plan wants to reduce the state department’s budget approximately half.

The new budget must be approved by Congress, and parliamentarians may decide to restore part or all the funding the government proposed to cut.

The State Department should respond to the OMB proposal on Tuesday. During the first term of US President Donald Trump, he proposed to cut about a third of diplomacy and help budgets. But Congress, which defines the federal government budget, rejected the Republican’s proposal.

“There is no end plan, a final budget,” the state department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told journalists on Tuesday when asked about the OMB proposals.

The OMB proposed the end of contributions to International Peace Maintenance Activities (CIPA).

“For example, Passback does not provide funding for CIPA, ending contributions to maintaining international peace due to recent peace -maintaining failures, such as Minusma, Unifil and Monusco, and the disproportionately high level of contributions,” according to an excerpt from Passback.

The US in arrears

The United Nations Peace Maintenance Budget finances nine missions in Mali, Lebanon, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Western Sahara, Cyprus, Kosovo, between Syria and Golhan hills occupied by Israel and Abyi, administrative area administered together by South Sudan and Sudan.

The Ombe Passback also proposed the creation of an American Opportunity Fund (A1OF) of US $ 2.1 billion, which would be used to cover a limited set of economic and development priorities abroad.

“If the government seeks to pay any contributions to the regular budget of the United Nations or peacekeeping contributions, we will seek to provide this financing from A1OF,” says Ombro Passback.

The US owes – for delays and current fiscal year – nearly $ 1.5 billion for the UN regular budget and nearly $ 1.2 billion for the Peace Maintenance Budget. A country may be up to two years late before facing a possible repercussion of losing its vote at the 193 -member General Assembly.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last month that he is looking for ways to improve efficiency and cut costs, as the world agency turns 80 this year in the midst of a cash crisis.

This content was originally published in Trump government proposes to eliminate UN peacekeeping financing on CNN Brazil.

Source: CNN Brasil

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