CHANGING PRIORITIES
Many of the programmes recommended for termination are dedicated to empowering local organisations seeking to advance justice in societies that have faced atrocities, one of the sources said, adding that some programmes have been going on for decades across Democratic and Republican administrations.
“Even if Secretary Rubio intervenes to save these programmes, many of which he supported as a senator, there will be no one left to manage these programmes,” the source said.
The administration of President Donald Trump has frozen and then cut back billions of dollars of foreign aid since taking office on Jan 20 to ensure American-taxpayer money funds programmes that are aligned with his “America First” policies.
The unprecedented cutbacks have effectively shut down its premier aid arm, the US Agency for International Development, jeopardised the delivery of life-saving food and medical aid, and thrown global humanitarian relief operations into chaos.
The OMB recommendation is yet another sign that the administration is increasingly de-prioritising advocacy for human rights and rule of law globally, an objective that previous US administrations have pursued.
While US foreign aid freezes had already started hampering an international effort to hold Russia responsible for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, Wednesday’s recommendations raise the risk of the US completely abandoning those efforts.
Among the programmes that are recommended for termination is an US$18 million State Department grant for Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office that is implemented by Georgetown University’s International Criminal Justice Initiative, two sources said.
While the programmes do not directly impact Ukraine’s frontline efforts to fend off Russia’s invasion, supporters say they represent the best chance of extensively documenting reported battlefield atrocities in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II, now grinding toward a fourth year.
Ukraine has opened more than 140,000 war crime cases since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion, which has killed tens of thousands, ravaged vast swathes of the country and left behind mental and physical scars from occupation. Russia consistently denies war crimes have been committed by its forces in the conflict.
PATH TO APPEAL
Other programmes include one that does accountability work on Myanmar army’s atrocities against Rohingya minorities, as well as on the persecution of Christians and other minorities by Syria’s ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, two sources said.
While the OMB recommendations could face State Department push-back, the criteria to appeal are set very strictly.
In an internal State Department email, the administration cautioned that any effort to preserve programmes that were recommended to be terminated should be thoroughly argued and directly aligned with Washington’s priorities.
“Bureaus must clearly and succinctly identify direct alignment to administration priorities,” the email, reviewed by Reuters, said.
