U.S. to cap contribution to UN peacekeeping budget at 25 pct: envoy

UNITED NATIONS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Wednesday that her country will pay no more than a quarter of the overall UN peacekeeping budget in the future.

"Moving forward, the United States will not pay more than 25 percent of the (UN) peacekeeping budget. This is a cap required by U.S. law," Haley told a high-level Security Council debate on UN peacekeeping.

"We pledge to work with member states and the organization to ensure we make this adjustment in a fair and sensible manner that protects UN peacekeeping. All of us have a role to play, and all of us must step up," she said.

Resources are important for peacekeeping, she said, but 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, and we look forward to a more equitable distribution of the budget among member states."

The United States contributes 28.47 percent (2.078 billion U.S. dollars) to the current UN peacekeeping budget of 7.3 billion dollars. China comes second with 750 million dollars (10.25 percent).

The United States shoulders 22 percent of the 5.4-billion-dollar biennial regular budget of the United Nations. Enditem