Cutting Support for UN Peacekeeping is Never a Good Idea

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The United Nations is expected to cut around 13,000 to 14,000 personnel in its nine peacekeeping operations (PKO) in Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere. That amounts to almost a quarter of the total peacekeepers.

The world body is downsizing because the Trump administration is reluctant to support multilateral cooperation efforts. Therefore, it has cut US funding for the UN. If this trend continues, it could also have a major impact on maintaining security in conflict zones.

America should reconsider its retrenchment policy.

The annual budget for UN PKO is approximately $5.4 billion USD (roughly ¥840 billion JPY). Although the US is obligated to pay the highest share among member states (around 26% of the total), it continues to remain in arrears, except for funding certain activities.

China is in second place, with a contribution assessment of about 24%, and Japan is in third place at about 7%. They, along with European nations, need to encourage the Trump administration to pay more of its share.

Filling a Vacuum with Peace

UN peacekeeping operations began in 1948 and have carried out over 70 missions globally since then. However, missions in global hotspots are fraught with danger. In fact, between January 2024 and late July 2025 alone, 78 PKO personnel were killed in the line of duty.

If a vacuum develops in a conflict zone, rogue elements may step in to fill it. With no immediate prospect for replacing personnel who are being let go, the focus needs to switch to improving the quality of peacekeeping operations.

One promising means to achieve this is the Triangular Partnership Program (TPP). Notably, this program calls for member countries to provide training for UN peacekeeping personnel. Its framework was proposed by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2014, and it began with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force serving as instructors. It is a trilateral framework for cooperation between countries that dispatch peacekeeping personnel to designated locations, countries that train those personnel, and the UN itself.

*Japan's Ryoji Takayama (far right) works on training on landmine clearance in Cambodia (Provided by Mr Takayama)*

The TPP has since grown into the UN's largest peacekeeping capacity-building program. Over 30,000 individuals from 42 countries and altogether more than 100 nations receive training in areas such as heavy machinery operation, explosive device response, and medical care.

Tackling New Forms of Conflict

UN Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare has pointed out the challenges. "The causes of conflict are expected to become more complex and diverse, including climate change, international crime and the malicious use of drones and AI," he said. Additionally, to address these increasingly complex factors, it is essential to enhance the scope of the TPP's operations.

The importance of the TPP was also reaffirmed at the Third Latin American and Caribbean Ministerial Conference on UN Peacekeeping. That meeting was held on October 8–9 in Asuncion, Paraguay. Hopefully, the Takaichi administration will actively support the TPP initiative, and Japan will serve as a model for other countries.