SIPRI: UN peacekeeping missions continue to retain support

According to SIPRI, by the end of 2025, a total of 78,633 personnel were deployed in international peacekeeping operations. This is the lowest figure recorded in at least 25 years and nearly 49% lower compared to 2016.

In 2025, there were 58 multilateral peacekeeping operations active across 34 countries and territories worldwide, three fewer than the previous year. Most personnel remain concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, where around 70% of all peacekeepers are deployed.

“Geopolitical tensions, political pressure and funding crises are putting the viability of multilateral peacekeeping in jeopardy,” the report’s authors stressed.

The significant reduction in personnel in 2025 was also linked to financial difficulties within the system caused by delayed or incomplete payments from major donors.

At the same time, SIPRI experts believe that the current crisis does not mean the international community is abandoning the idea of multilateral peacekeeping.

“Despite the difficulties, there is broad support for UN peacekeeping as an important tool of international security,” said SIPRI senior researcher Claudia Pfeifer Cruz.

UN peacekeeping activities began in 1948, when the UN Security Council deployed military observers to the Middle East to monitor the ceasefire between Israel and neighboring Arab states. Since then, the organization has launched more than 70 peacekeeping operations.

The first armed UN peacekeeping mission was deployed in 1956 during the Suez Crisis. After the end of the Cold War, the scale of operations expanded significantly. Between 1989 and 1994, the UN Security Council authorized 20 new missions, while the number of peacekeepers increased from 11,000 to 75,000 personnel.

Throughout the history of UN operations, hundreds of thousands of military personnel, police officers and civilian specialists from more than 120 countries have taken part in peacekeeping missions. More than 4,400 UN peacekeepers have lost their lives while serving under the UN flag.

The International Day of UN Peacekeepers is observed annually on May 29 in honor of personnel who lost their lives while serving in peacekeeping missions.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Kazakhstan became the first and remains the only CIS country to receive an independent UN mandate on the Golan Heights, where Kazakh peacekeepers are currently serving.