They are deployed around the world, often under dangerous conditions: UN peacekeepers are supposed to ensure peace where conflicts escalate. But things are getting worse for international peace missions.
May 25, 2026, 08:27May 25, 2026, 08:27
Money is becoming scarcer, missions are fewer, and troops are shrinking. An analysis by Stockholm peace researchers shows: While wars and tensions grow worldwide, the common commitment to peace is in danger of slowly disintegrating.
A UN peacekeeper during an operation in Congo. (symbol image)Image: keystone
According to the latest report from the Sipri Institute, the number of UN peacekeepers and other peacekeepers in peace operations fell to its lowest level in at least 25 years in 2025. At the end of December the number was 78,633. According to the researchers, that is 49 percent less than ten years ago.
There were a total of 58 international peace missions in 34 countries or territories last year – three fewer than in 2024. “If developments continue like this, there could be a dramatic weakening of multilateral conflict management and an almost complete marginalization of institutions such as the United Nations,” said Jaïr van der Lijn, head of the Sipri peace operations program, according to a statement.
Blue helmets on austerity drive: UN missions have shrunk by a billion-dollar hole
The reasons for the decline, according to the peace researcher: a “perfect storm” of financial, political and geopolitical factors. A funding gap of two billion US dollars that arose in the UN peacekeeping missions in the summer of 2025 had a major impact. According to Sipri, important donors had not fulfilled their commitments on time or in full. The United Nations then had to cut back on personnel. It was only at the end of January 2026 that UN Secretary General António Guterres warned again of a financial collapse of the United Nations.
The United States plays a significant role in United Nations peacekeeping operations and is the largest contributor. The USA alone owes billions to the organization, which is under severe financial pressure. According to the UN, the budget for peacekeeping missions is around $2.2 billion. For comparison: the budget for the entire UN peacekeeping for 2025/2026 is $5.38 billion.
Sipri researcher Jaïr van der Lijn warned of the long-term consequences of the decline in peacekeeping operations. “The result is likely to be more conflict, and these conflicts are likely to have even more severe impacts on civilians as states abandon long-established norms,” van der Lijn said, according to the statement.
Trump and the United Nations Crisis
This probably also means US President Donald Trump. Trump has repeatedly made critical comments about the UN. While the United Nations’ need for reform is hardly disputed, critics see the US course as primarily an attempt to put the organization under financial and political pressure. As part of his “America First” policy, Trump has drastically cut or stopped funding for numerous UN organizations. As a result of his country’s withdrawal from many UN organizations, trust in the work of the United Nations is also suffering.
In the UN Security Council, tough demands and veto threats from the permanent members have made decisions about extending mandates for operations more difficult, according to the peace researchers.
An example of this is the UN peacekeeping mission Unifil in Lebanon, which has existed since 1978. The otherwise routine extension of the mandate failed in 2025, mainly due to resistance from the USA. Together with Israel, they pushed for an end to the mission, which now expires in December 2026. According to the UN, more than 7,500 blue helmet soldiers from around 50 countries are currently stationed in the area. However, Israel and the USA view the operation as ineffective. What follows Unifil is currently unclear.
According to Sipri, no new UN-led peacekeeping operations have been decided since 2014. Instead, regional initiatives emerged. However, these too would have to contend with financing problems and difficult decision-making processes due to geopolitical rivalries – for example in Sudan and Ukraine. “Regional organizations lack important skills when it comes to successful, integrated peacebuilding,” said Sipri researcher Claudia Pfeifer Cruz. The decline in UN missions is therefore leaving a “growing gap that alternative models cannot fill”.
When states act alone again
According to the researchers, one consequence of declining support for the United Nations is that responses to international crises more often take place outside of classic multilateral missions. Instead of joint peace operations, there are increasingly unilateral or bilateral solutions and short-term agreements. These are “often more militarized and more directly influenced by the self-interests of the states involved,” says the Sipri report.
But the peace researchers also give hope: “The collapse of multilateral conflict management is not inevitable,” explained Claudia Pfeifer Cruz. To do this, however, states would have to become more financially involved and create greater “political leeway”. (sda/dpa)