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28-06-2025
WASHINGTON/THE HAGUE: The White House has recommended terminating US funding for nearly two dozen programs that conduct war crimes and accountability work globally, including in Myanmar, Syria and on alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine, according to three US sources familiar with the matter and internal government documents reviewed by media.
The recommendation from the Office of Management and Budget, which was made on Wednesday and has not been previously reported, is not the final decision to end the programs since it gives the State Department the option to appeal but it sets up a potential back-and-forth between the OMB and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his aides, who will reply to OMB with their suggestions on which programs deserve to continue.
The programs also include work in Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Belarus, Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan and the Gambia, according to the sources and a list seen by media.
The State Department declined to comment. OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The expectation that Rubio would argue for many of the programs to be continued is slim, according to three US officials. However, the top US diplomat could make a case to keep crucial programs, such as aiding potential war crimes prosecutions in Ukraine, according to one source familiar with the matter.
Several of the programs earmarked for termination operate war crimes accountability projects in Ukraine, three sources familiar with the matter said, including Global Rights Compliance, which is helping to collect evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity across Ukraine, such as sexual violence and torture.
Another is Legal Action Worldwide, a legal aid group which supports local efforts to bring cases against Russian suspects of war crimes in Ukraine, the sources said.
Requests seeking comment from the groups were not immediately answered.
State Department bureaus that would like to preserve any war crimes and accountability programs should send their justifications by close of business day on July 11, said an internal State Department email seen by media.
Many of the programs recommended for termination are dedicated to empowering local organizations seeking to advance justice in societies that have faced atrocities, one of the sources said, adding that some programs have been going on for decades across Democratic and Republican administrations.
“Even if Secretary Rubio intervenes to save these programs, many of which he supported as a senator, there will be no one left to manage these programs,” 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 January 20 to ensure American-taxpayer money funds programs that are aligned with his “America First” policies.
The unprecedented cutbacks have effectively shut down its premier aid arm US Agency for International Development, jeopardized 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-prioritizing 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 US completely abandoning those efforts. (Int’l News Desk)
