PLEA Network

15 March 2025, BBC: ‘Do you have communist links?’ US sends 36 questions to UN aid groups. United Nations aid agencies have been sent questionnaires by the US asking them to state if they have “anti-American” beliefs or affiliations. Among the 36 questions on the form, sent by the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and seen by the BBC, is one asking if they have any links to communism. Some of the world’s biggest humanitarian organisations have received the questionnaire. This includes the UN’s refugee agency, and – outside the UN – the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Trump administration has launched a cost-cutting drive across the US government, led by billionaire Elon Musk, and has closed down much of its foreign aid. The UN groups fear the move by the OMB is a sign the US is planning to abandon humanitarian work – or even the UN itself – altogether. The US pulled out of the World Health Organization on the first day of US President Donald Trump’s second term. And this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the vast majority of the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) programmes had been terminated. Surveys indicate that most Americans believe the country overspends on foreign aid. The US spends a lower percentage of its GDP on aid than European countries but, because of its huge economy, still supplies 40% of global humanitarian funding Many of the UN aid agencies who were sent the form receive funding, not just from USAID, but directly from the US government. One question asks: ”Can you confirm that your organisation does not work with entities associated with communist, socialist, or totalitarian parties, or any party that espouses anti-American beliefs?” Read More Here