Five of the United Nations (UN) 12 peacekeeping and/or peace support missions are in Africa with a commensurate portion of the world body’s $5.4 billion budget for 2025/26 finding its way to troubled continental countries and regions.
The African UN missions are, in no particular order, MINURSO in Western Sahara; MINUSCA in the Central African Republic (CAR); MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); UNISFA in Abyei; and UNMISS in South Sudan. Other UN missions are in Golan, Cyprus, Lebanon, Kosovo, India and Pakistan as well as the Middle East.
The multi-billion dollar budget was approved on Monday 30 June by the UN General Assembly marking an end to what a statement has as “weeks of negotiation amid warnings about persistent funding challenges”.
The amount is “slightly down” on the previous financial year and will go to the 12 missions, UN logistics centre in Entebbe (Uganda) and Brindisi (Italy) as well as the UN support account for peacekeeping.
Last year, the peacekeeping budget stood at $5.59 billion for 14 operations, meaning the 2025/26 figure reflects “a modest decrease” following final settlements of former missions in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia.
UN peacekeeping remains one of the most visible UN activities, with close to 70 000 military, police and civilian personnel deployed across Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
Missions include long-standing deployments such as MONUSCO, UNFICYP (United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus) and MINUSCA. Mandated by the Security Council (SC), the operations work to stabilise conflict zones, support political processes, protect civilians and assist in disarmament and rule-of-law efforts.
The UN’s peacekeeping budget is separate from its regular budget, which supports the world body’s core programmes, including human rights, development, political affairs, communications and regional co-operation.
The peacekeeping budget cycle runs from July to June, while the regular budget is aligned with the calendar year.
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