The General Assembly on 30 June 2021 formally adopted the peacekeeping budgets for July 2021 to June 2022, barely a day before the start of the fiscal period.
This approval came after a few days of intense negotiations that appeared unlikely to finish on time, and which triggered contingency planning for a shutdown of peacekeeping operations.
The approved budget of $6.38 billion is $89 million less than the Secretary-General’s proposal, and $444 million less than last year. The main reduction, of nearly $400 million, relates to the drawdown of UNAMID which has entered the liquidation phase. UNMISS, MONUSCO and UNSOS also have some reductions while MINUSCA has an increase due to the Security Council decision to increase the authorized level of military and police personnel.
In their deliberations on the peacekeeping budget, the Fifth Committee focused on the impact of COVID-19, protection of civilians and safety of personnel, geographical representation, long vacant posts, greater nationalization of functions, use of in-house capacity for core activities, missions in transition, and the comprehensive performance assessment system. Other significant focus areas were the Women, Peace and Security agenda, sexual exploitation and abuse, environment, accountability, oversight and procurement.
The peacekeeping budget has been decreasing steadily due to the successful completion of missions, among them MINUSTAH, MINUJUSTH, UNOCI and UNMIL in recent years. For broader trend comparisons, the 2021/22 budget is $1.1 billion lower than the $7.5 billion budget for 2017/18, a reduction of almost 15 per cent over 5 years.
