White House recommends halting funding for investigations into Russian crimes in Ukraine – Reuters

The White House has recommended ending US funding for nearly two dozen programmes that investigate war crimes in various countries, including Myanmar, Syria and Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda, citing Reuters

Details: According to Reuters, the White House Office of Management and Budget sent a letter to the Department of State on Wednesday with proposals to end funding for several programmes.

Three sources told Reuters that several of the programmes facing cuts are involved in holding perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine accountable.

These include the Global Rights Compliance project, which assists in gathering evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity across Ukraine, such as sexual violence and torture.

Another programme is Legal Action Worldwide, a legal assistance group that supports local efforts to hold Russian suspects accountable for war crimes in Ukraine.

It is not yet clear whether the Department of State will follow the White House recommendation, but the letter sets out strict requirements for justifying which programmes should be retained and why.

One Reuters source noted that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio might advocate preserving critical programmes such as assistance in prosecuting war crimes in Ukraine.

Background: 

• President Donald Trump's administration froze and later cut billions of dollars in foreign assistance, arguing that the funding was not in the US interest.
• In March, the United States officially informed Eurojust of its decision to withdraw from the international group established to investigate the actions of state leaders responsible for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!