The U.S. State Department office that funds the worldwide clearance operation has asked humanitarian clearance organizations funded by the administration to cease operations “effective immediately,” according to a surprise announcement early Saturday.
Email, sent at 6:26 a.m Karen R. ChandlerHead of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office of Arms Control and AbatementHe said this “was consistent with the President’s executive order to reevaluate and realign U.S. foreign aid.”
Ms. Chandler said officials who handle financial grants for nonprofit groups will provide more guidance on Monday. She ended by thanking the nonprofits “for the important work they do in making communities safe.”
Ms. Chandler did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
Advertisement follows Comments made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his first day on the job On Tuesday, when he said the complete halt in foreign aid was meant “to make sure that our foreign policy is focused on one thing, and that is advancing our national interests.”
These interests were “clearly defined” by President Trump’s campaign as “anything that makes us stronger, safer or more prosperous,” Mr. Rubio said.
It is not clear whether Mr. Rubio or the President understands that the presence of unused munitions also threatens the lives of Americans, given that American forces often Cluster weapons. Such ammunition Kill as many as possible.
In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Latest annual report on its global efforts to eliminate useless munitionsOne official wrote that the program halted by the Trump administration “promotes food security by helping to revitalize agricultural fields” in countries like Sri Lanka and Vietnam, and cited widespread contamination in Ukraine, where a war with Russia “is littering the country with land mines, munitions and munitions.” Non-separable and improvised explosive devices.
The official noted that these explosive hazards exacerbated food insecurity by blocking access to agricultural land and impeding the recovery of damaged storage and processing facilities.
“Clearing Ukraine’s mines from farmland is directly linked to global food security and is a prerequisite for Ukraine’s recovery,” the official wrote, adding that the administration’s work elsewhere was aimed at helping displaced people and refugees return home, and facilitating economic security and prosperity.
Chris Whatley, US director for the HALO Trust, a US-British group with operations around the world, said his organization’s efforts had directly outpaced the stated priorities of the Secretary of State and the President.
“Fundamentally, this pause in foreign aid is about assessing whether it is consistent with President Trump’s stated goals of strengthening American security and prosperity,” Mr. Whatley said in an interview on Saturday. “We see the removal as removing those core priorities.”
