Reuters: White House wants to stop funding war crimes investigations. Including those in Ukraine

The White House has recommended cutting off US funding for nearly two dozen programs investigating war crimes, including in Ukraine. The decision is not final — the State Department can appeal.

This is reported by Reuters, citing three informed sources in the US. The agency notes that this is also confirmed by internal government documents.

Three sources said some of the programs being shut down are collecting evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, including Global Rights Compliance, which documents crimes against humanity, rape and torture, and Legal Action Worldwide, which supports Ukrainian efforts to bring cases against Russian war crimes suspects.

Among the programs facing the threat of a cut in US funding is an $18 million State Department grant to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, implemented by Georgetown University’s International Criminal Justice Initiative. A university spokesman declined to comment.

The list of initiatives facing cuts to US funding also includes programs in Iraq, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Belarus, Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Gambia. Other programs to be cut include those documenting crimes against the Rohingya by the Myanmar military and the persecution of Christians and other minorities in Syria under Bashar al-Assad, two sources said. Some of the programs have been in place for decades, under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recommended the funding halt on June 25. The agency said it was further evidence that the current administration is increasingly prioritizing human rights and the rule of law, goals that have traditionally been important to previous U.S. administrations.

Reueters also notes: this could create a confrontation between the OMB and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his team, who are expected to submit their proposals on which programs should be preserved.

Three US officials said it was unlikely that Rubio would actively advocate for preserving most of the programs. However, one of the people said he could defend some key programs, including those related to potential war crimes prosecutions in the Ukraine case.

"Even if Secretary of State Rubio tries to save these programs, many of which he supported as a senator, there will be no people left who could manage them," one of the agencyʼs interlocutors emphasized.

A State Department letter seen by Reuters says all its departments that want to keep certain programs must submit justifications by the end of business on July 11. However, the criteria for submitting appeals are clearly limited. An internal State Department letter states that attempts to keep any programs must be very well-founded and directly correspond to Washingtonʼs priorities.

“Units should clearly and concisely explain how the program aligns with the administration’s priorities,” the letter, seen by Reuters, said.

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