UN Funding Crisis Forces 1,400 Bangladeshi Peacekeepers Home

Around 1,400 Bangladeshi peacekeepers a 25 percent reduction of its current deployment will be sent home by mid-2026 due to severe UN funding shortfalls, officials have confirmed.

The UN Department of Peace Operations recently notified Bangladesh's Permanent Mission about the global downsizing, which is being driven by a directive from UN Secretary-General António Guterres to reduce mission expenditures by 15 percent.

Bangladesh, a leading troop-contributing nation with about 6,000 personnel in 10 countries, faces a 25% cut. Other nations are also severely affected, with Nepal facing a 27% reduction and Rwanda a 31% cut.

The crisis stems from the UN General Assembly approving a reduced peacekeeping budget of $5.38 billion for 2025-26, down from $5.6 billion the previous year.

UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix warned the funding shortfall is "more daunting than ever" and will severely impact critical operations like patrols, protection duties, logistics, and air operations worldwide.

The Foreign Ministry has requested the UN ensure balance in troop reductions across all nationalities and prioritize recruiting Bangladeshi personnel if the budget is increased in the future.

Since 1988, nearly two lakh Bangladeshi personnel have participated in 63 peacekeeping missions, with 165 losing their lives in the line of duty until 2022.