Geopolitical tensions and a funding crisis are jeopardising peacekeeping missions, particularly those under the auspices of the United Nations, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute warned on Monday.
Just under 79,000 international personnel were deployed in international peacekeeping operations at the end of 2025, the lowest number in at least 25 years, the institute said in a report.
“If things continue in this way, we could see a dramatic weakening of multilateral conflict management and the near-complete sidelining of institutions like the United Nations, due to a perfect storm of funding, political and geopolitical factors,” Jair van der Lijn, director of SIPRI’s peace operations and conflict management programme, said in a statement.
“The result is likely to be more conflicts, and these conflicts are likely to have even graver impacts on civilians as states abandon long-established norms.”
A total of 58 peacekeeping operations were in place in 2025, dropping below the threshold of 60 for the first time since 2016.
Nearly three-quarters of deployed personnel were serving in five countries Central African Republic, South Sudan, Somalia, DRC and Lebanon.
UN-led operations are being weakened by a funding crisis, as the largest donors failed to honour all or part of their commitments.
Consequently, $2 billion was missing from the $5.6 billion pledged in the 2024-2025 budget, according to SIPRI.
“In the UN Security Council, hard-line demands and veto threats from permanent members complicated decisions on renewing operation mandates,” the institute said.
The United States has for example demanded an end to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon despite violations of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, SIPRI noted.
As a compromise, the Security Council voted to renew the mission one last time, until December 2026.
Support for the principle of multilateral conflict management remains nonetheless solid, SIPRI said.
“However, to sustain multilateral conflict management states will need to go beyond expressions of support they will need to provide predictable funding and create enough political space to enable effective multilateral responses,” SIPRI research Claudia Pfeifer Cruz said.
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