Russia’s participation in global peacekeeping missions funded by the United Nations would be eliminated under legislation introduced by U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
“It is a tragic and terrible irony that Russia receives peacekeeping funding. Stop it now!” said Sen. Cassidy. “Putin’s war makes Russia a pariah state, which should not receive any benefits from the international community.”
Sen. Cassidy on March 15 sponsored the Withdrawing Russian Support to Peacekeeping Act of 2022, S. 3841, with original cosponsor Sen. Blackburn to terminate all contracts between the UN’s Department of Peace Operations and the Russian Federation, which launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
“America needs to banish Russia from the international community,” said Sen. Blackburn. “Putin’s success or failure ultimately depends on his ability to conquer sovereign nations and rebuild the USSR.
“This legislation will block Moscow from exploiting UN peacekeeping contracts and stop taxpayer dollars from bankrolling Putin’s proxy army,” Sen. Blackburn added. “The United States cannot let the new Axis of Evil win.”
If enacted, S. 3841 would require the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs to use the influence of the U.S. to instruct the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPO) to terminate all contracts with the individuals of and entities in the Russian Federation, and direct all police, military and civilian peacekeepers from the Russian Federation to depart from all peacekeeping missions of the UN, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
Additionally, the Secretary of State would be required to determine within 45 days if DPO has complied and, if not, would withhold funds from the DPO until the Secretary determined that it has complied with instruction, the summary says.
S. 3841 has been referred to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee for consideration.