ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has warned that a liquidity crisis at the United Nations (UN) is undermining the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions, warning of its “serious consequences” for mandate delivery, civilian protection and deterrence against violence.

Pakistan is one of the world’s top troop-contributing countries and has deployed more than 250,000 peacekeepers to 48 UN missions across four continents over the past eight decades. A total of 182 of its peacekeepers have also lost their lives while serving under the UN flag.

Speaking at the opening of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said several missions have transitioned or drawn down in recent years and no new UN peacekeeping mission has been established in over a decade, despite rising global instability and the highest levels of conflict since World War-II.

“If financial commitments wane and missions continue to contract without clear strategic direction, the readiness of troop contributing countries to maintain forces earmarked for UN deployment could also be affected, including standby arrangements, rapid deployment capabilities and specialized units,” Ahmad said, calling for a “serious and structured review” of financial architecture underpinning UN peacekeeping.

The liquidity crisis has reduced patrols, mobility and field presence, according to the Pakistani envoy. UN peacekeeping must become more agile, focused and better equipped to address evolving threats, including through technology and stronger partnerships.

“Protection of civilians, deterrence against violations, and ceasefire monitoring and verification remain foundational tasks,” he said. “Lack of political progress should not be used as a pretext for withdrawing missions.”

Pakistan has contributed both military and police personnel to UN operations, deploying more than 50 formed police units to missions including Haiti, Darfur, Timor-Leste and Côte d’Ivoire, according to Pakistan’s UN mission.

Pakistan’s top diplomat at the UN also flagged the issue at a UN Security Council briefing on peacekeeping police components this month.