The United Nations Human Rights Office will close several of its essential programs, including assistance to victims of torture in Iraq, due to a significant reduction in funding from the United States. This was reported by Reuters.
According to UN human rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, projects in Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, Ukraine, and Colombia are at risk. The cuts will also affect the special fund to support indigenous peoples.
These initiatives previously received funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Department of State.
“There are some countries where we will have to reduce some of our work, including in Colombia and Iraq, and elsewhere we are trying to reallocate funding,” she told reporters in Geneva.
The program in Iraq, which helped torture victims and families of missing persons, will be closed entirely, she added, without giving further details.
The UN Human Rights Office has offices and teams worldwide that document violations, help people in illegal detention, and protect human rights defenders.
Washington used to be the largest donor to the UN Human Rights Office, providing nearly 14% of its budget last year in addition to mandatory UN fees.
