Nikki Haley told the UN today that America is cutting back what we contribute to the UN’s budget:
RT @USUN: Peacekeeping is a shared responsibility. With shared responsibility comes shared burdens and shared costs. One country should not shoulder more than one quarter of the UN peacekeeping budget. pic.twitter.com/dSHZMDqkbG
— Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) March 28, 2018
Here’s more:
AP – The United States will no longer shoulder more than a quarter of the multibillion-dollar costs of the United Nations’ peacekeeping operations, Washington’s envoy said Wednesday.
“Peacekeeping is a shared responsibility,” U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said at a Security Council debate on peacekeeping reform. “All of us have a role to play, and all of us must step up.”
The U.S. is the biggest contributor to the U.N.’s 15 peacekeeping missions worldwide. Washington is paying about 28.5 percent of this year’s $7.3 billion peacekeeping budget, though Haley said U.S. law is supposed to cap the contribution at 25 percent.
The second-biggest contributor, China, pays a bit over 10 percent.
President Donald Trump’s administration has complained before that the budget and the U.S. share are too high and pressed to cut to this year’s budget. It is $570 million below last year’s, a smaller decrease than Washington wanted.
“We’re only getting started,” Haley said when the cut was approved in June. It followed a $400 million trim the year before.
Haley said Wednesday the U.S. will work to make sure cuts in its portion are done “in a fair and sensible manner that protects UN peacekeeping.”
I know 3.5 percent may not sound like a lot, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction and I absolutely welcome this move. And if I remember correctly, Obama was the one who increased our contribution to the UN shortly after he came into office. By how much, I’m not sure, but it’s good to see that being rolled back.