The eyes of the world are focused on the violence in Darfur, Sudan.  Many are calling for a UN peacekeeping mission to stop the killing.  But if authorized, will the U.S. fund it?

The past few years has seen a dramatic upswing in UN peacekeeping missions. There are currently sixteen peacekeeping missions organized, run and paid for by the United Nations. The UN currently supervises over fifty-five thousand troops, civilian police, and monitors. As of May 31st, the United States is contributing seven soldiers, 507 police and 18 observers, or about one percent of the total. The Security Council is also considering a new peacekeeping mission in Southern Sudan which may be expanded to include Darfur.

Despite the expanded need for UN peacekeeping operations, three factors could put U.S. support for them in jeopardy:

1. Peacekeeping Cap – During the Clinton Administration the U.S. assessment for peacekeeping was reduced from about 31% to 27%. However, Congress had previously passed a law that capped US contributions to 25% of the total peacekeeping budget.  The legislation that was passed in 2000 to raise the limit to 27% expires at the end of Fiscal Year 2004. Secretary of State Powell has asked Congress to permanently remove this cap, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did so in its State Department Authorization bill. But for unrelated reasons, the bill will not be allowed to come to the floor for a vote. If the cap is not repealed, the United States will once again accrue UN arrears. Unfortunately, there are very few legislative vehicles that will be considered by Congress in this year that could authorize the removal of the cap. It will take a concerted effort on the part of a very distracted State Department to make this happen.

2. Low Budget Request – The Administration asked for $650 million for UN Peacekeeping Fiscal Year 2005. This request for was met by the House Appropriations Committee and is expected to be met by the Senate. However, this request did not factor in the missions in Haiti, Burundi, or the proposed Sudan mission. Additionally preliminary reports indicate that the missions in Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and the Ivory Coast could cost double what was originally budgeted. The House Appropriations Committee expressed concerns that there are five new peacekeeping missions to which the UN has committed without "presenting the committee with a viable plan to meet the current and future costs of those commitments." The State Department has not yet asked for more funds to meet these needs. Senior State Department leadership will have to make this request a priority or huge UN arrears could accrue during 2005.

3. Peacekeeper Immunity - In June 2004 the United States withdrew a Security Council resolution designed to grant immunity from the International Criminal Court to all peacekeepers engaged in UN authorized missions. A similar resolution was adopted in 2001 and renewed in 2002 and 2003. However, strong opposition by pro-ICC European Union nations combined with global outcry caused by the Iraq prison scandal undermined the United States ability to secure the votes needed to pass the resolution. In the past, the U.S. had threatened to veto UN peacekeeping missions if the resolution was not passed. When asked if it would now be hard for the U.S. to participate in or fund peacekeeping missions, State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher said that, “we will have to examine each of these missions case by case, both in terms of the voting for a peacekeeping mission … [and] in terms of staffing and providing Americans to participate in peacekeeping missions.” On July 31, 2004 three missions will need to be renewed by the Security Council: MONUC (DRC) UNOMIG (Georgia), and UNIFIL (Lebanon). The MONUC mission will be particularly telling because the International Criminal Court has announced that the situation in the Congo will be its very first case.

About the Brahimi Report

Summary of the Report's Recommendations

An Analysis of the Secretary-General's Follow-up Report on the Brahimi Report, released June 2001

Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (Brahimi Report)