The recommendation, made quietly on Wednesday, includes terminating support for projects in Iraq, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Gambia….reports Asian Lite News
The Trump administration is pushing to drastically reduce US government support for global war crimes investigations, with a proposal that could end funding for nearly two dozen programmes focused on accountability in conflict zones like Ukraine, Myanmar, Syria and beyond.
According to internal documents reviewed by Reuters and officials familiar with the discussions, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has recommended cutting funds to programmes supporting evidence collection, legal assistance, and prosecution of war crimes and atrocities worldwide. The recommendation, made quietly on Wednesday, includes terminating support for projects in Iraq, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Gambia.
Although not final, the recommendation sets a clear course for cuts unless the State Department, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, successfully appeals. Bureaus seeking to keep any of the at-risk programmes alive have until July 11 to justify their continuation and prove alignment with the Trump administration’s foreign policy priorities.
The shift marks the latest in a series of foreign aid cutbacks since President Trump returned to office in January. Officials say the goal is to ensure US taxpayer funds are used strictly for efforts that advance “America First” policies. However, critics argue the rollback abandons long-standing US commitments to justice and human rights.
Among the high-profile programmes facing termination is an $18 million grant supporting Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office, implemented by Georgetown University’s International Criminal Justice Initiative. Also at risk is Global Rights Compliance, a legal team helping Ukraine collect evidence of Russian war crimes, including torture and sexual violence, as well as the Legal Action Network, which supports domestic Ukrainian war crimes prosecutions.
These efforts are not part of Ukraine’s frontline defence, but officials stress their importance in documenting atrocities during Europe’s largest war since World War II. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has opened over 140,000 war crimes investigations. Moscow continues to deny all allegations.
A State Department email viewed by Reuters warned that any attempt to preserve programmes must show “clear and succinct alignment to administration priorities.” In practice, officials suggest few appeals are likely to succeed. “There’s little appetite to keep funding justice programmes that aren’t considered strategically essential,” said a US official.
Also slated for cuts are initiatives documenting atrocities by Myanmar’s military against the Rohingya and projects investigating persecution by Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime.
Critics say the planned funding withdrawal is a dangerous signal. “These programmes are vital to international accountability,” said a human rights legal expert. “If the US steps back now, it will create a vacuum that authoritarian regimes will exploit.”
The Trump administration has already frozen billions in foreign aid, disrupting global humanitarian efforts and sidelining the US Agency for International Development (USAID). This latest move underscores the administration’s broader disinterest in advancing rule of law abroad.
Supporters of the Ukraine war crimes programmes say they remain the best hope of holding Russian military and political leaders accountable for abuses ranging from civilian massacres to use of banned weapons. With international courts often slow and underfunded, US-backed documentation efforts are viewed as essential.
As Washington’s budget priorities continue to shift inward, rights advocates fear the era of strong American support for international justice is drawing to a close — just as global conflict and impunity are on the rise.
