Scott Simon, Host:

The Congress approved rescue package includes about one billion dollars for the United Nations. This will draw money from the United Nations Peacekipping Operations and the United Nations Blockon Fund. Michelle Kelman of NPR told what this claw of money could be mean worldwide.

Michelle Kelman, Byline: President Trump often talks about his peace, and he pointed to a deal that he says that Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo will end the 30 -year struggle. But the deal depends on a peace operation of the United Nations, the same which is quoted in the recipe package.

Peter Yeo: The United Nations Peace Mission is incredibly important for the implementation of this deal.

Calmen: Peter Yeo is the president of the better world campaign, who advocates for the United Nations

YeO: Rick recruitment package will actually be weakened in an original way that the peace deal of President Trump is being implemented. Therefore, I think the administration and the Congress have to solve their way through that one.

Calmen: The US covers a quarter of all the United Nations peace operations worldwide, with more than one billion dollars a year. Now America is running $ 361 million back at a time when the United Nations mandate remains the same. A United Nations peace officer told the NPR that it could mean to send some peacekeeping units home. Another United Nations agency is facing cutback, the United Nations Children Fund – or UNICEF – is led by an American and traditionally bipartite support. Democrats tried to remove these cuts from the Rickry Package, but a Republican Senator Eric Schmid, a Missouri, successfully opposed that amendment on the Senate floor this week.

(Soundbight of collected recording)

Eric Schmidt: Mission of UNICEF, although is commendable, is not immune to waste, fraud and abuse. That is why this recitation package includes $ 142 million for UNICEF overhead.

Calmen: UNICEF says the canceled funding was not used for overhead expenses, but instead it says important and flexible funding. Peter Yao says that the flexible funds allow the agency to move quickly to help the children caught in struggle or natural disasters.

YeO: I would not be surprised if it is not the last word because it is related to American funding from UNICEF, but it is a very devastating blow.

Calmen: The United Nations refugee agency says that it is still very early to explain how this cut can affect its work. Reema Jams, the regional director of the Middle East of the UNHCR, came to Washington last week, to tell us that the authorities have a rare opportunity to resolve the refugee crisis in Syria, as the country comes out of the Civil War.

Rema Jamous: This is incredibly unique to see a solution on the horizon for Unhcr. And for people to be able to get refugees back to their home countries, a unique, a unique, a unique, and we intend to make full use of it.

Calmen: But she says that UNHCR has faced a cutback not only from the US, but also from other big donors who are following the leadership of the US and withdraw human aid in favor of defense.

Jams: And unfortunately, we have to reduce our workforce in order of about 30%. So when we need to scaling, people will have to dramatically cut our own employees to help people feel this important solution.

Calmen: Trump’s recipe package does not sing the UNHCR, but it draws $ 800 million from the State Department fund over $ 3 billion more than $ 3 billion that supports groups that help refugees abroad.

Mitchell Calmen, NPR News, The State Department.

Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. visit our website Conditions of use And Permission On page www.npr.org For more information.

The accuracy and availability of NPR tape may be different. Transcript text can be modified to match the correct errors or updates in the audio. The audio on NPR.ORG can be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The official record of NPR’s programming is audio records.