The Trump administration has recommended terminating U.S. funding for multiple global programs that investigate war crimes, including those focusing on Russian atrocities in Ukraine. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed cuts to nearly two dozen initiatives, with several programs based in Ukraine targeting crimes like torture and sexual violence.
Among the targeted groups is Global Rights Compliance, which collects evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, including incidents of torture and sexual violence. Another is Legal Action Worldwide, a legal aid organization that supports the prosecution of suspects accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine. The Trump administration’s funding cuts have already impacted humanitarian aid and civil society programs across Ukraine as the country faces its fourth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The State Department will have the opportunity to appeal the OMB’s recommendation, though two U.S. officials told Reuters that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is not likely to advocate for most of the programs. Rubio could potentially argue to preserve a few key programs, such as those supporting the prosecution of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, one source said. According to an internal State Department email viewed by Reuters, the department has until July 11 to submit their arguments on behalf of preserving any of the targeted war crimes accountability programs.
Among the defunded organizations is Ukraine Conflict Observatory, the leading U.S.-backed initiative documenting Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children. A part of Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab, the group will end its efforts to track and monitor illegally deported Ukrainian children as of July 1 due to funding cuts. The White House also previously disbanded the U.S. Justice Department’s War Crimes Accountability Team and fired a coordinator responsible for collecting data on Russian war crimes in Ukraine.