UN chief wants Trump to provide additional exceptions to his foreign-aid freeze
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is asking the Trump administration to provide additional exemptions to a 90-day freeze on all U.S. foreign aid.
Guterres’ spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, didn’t go into details Monday, but said that the U.N. chief is making the request to “ensure the continued delivery of critical development and humanitarian activities for the most vulnerable communities around the world, whose lives and livelihoods depend on this support.”
Soon after his inauguration last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting all foreign aid pending a review to ensure that the funds being distributed around the world are aligned with his “America First” policy priorities. On Friday, the State Department issued a stop-work order on all new and existing aid. The memo, obtained by the Miami Herald, offered guidance about the suspension and the review process launched by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Far-reaching, it affects everything from HIV/AIDS medication to reproductive health to security. Not only are all new contracts and grant awards for foreign assistance on pause, but disbursements or payments for existing work are also halted, absent a waiver from the secretary of state.
Among the waivers granted were military aid to Egypt and Israel, and emergency food assistance, according to the memo.
Trump has also signed an order for the U.S. to withdraw from the U.N.’s World Health Organization, citing among other things its “onerous payments.” On Sunday night, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official, John Nkengasong, sent a memo to senior leaders telling them to immediately stop working with the WHO, the Associated Press reported.
In Haiti, where the U.S. is the largest donor of aid, the stoppage on U.S. assistance is being viewed as “catastrophic” by the government and “reckless” by some humanitarian groups that rely on the U.S. Agency for International Development for assistance. In addition to health initiatives, U.S. money finances both the Haiti National Police and U.N. authorized Multinational Security Support mission being led by Kenya, as well as an ongoing multi-million dollar renovation of the Cap-Haïtien seaport, to name a few.
Several providers told the Miami Herald that they are still seeking clarity of how the freeze will affect services, but are deeply concerned about its impact on the already deteriorating security environment in Haiti.
On Monday, for example, while providers were meeting over the phone and video conference trying to get answers, armed gangs were once more on the attack. Early in the morning, two armed groups encircled the community of Kenscoff in the mountains above Port-au-Prince. Haitian police responded. But while police were able to stop the gangs’ advance into other areas of Kenscoff, local residents reported that homes had been burned and people forced to flee after the rural hamlets of Godet and Bélot were overtaken by gangs.
In addition to temporarily freezing U.S. aid, Trump is also looking at the United States’ assistance to the U.N., another cause for concern inside the global organization.
“The U.S. is the largest, if not the largest contributor to the U.N. system in terms of voluntary contributions to humanitarian development aid,” Dujarric told reporters in New York on Monday.
The U.N. provides humanitarian funding worldwide as well as peacekeeping troops in conflict zones. Dujarric said humanitarian and development aid agencies in the U.N. are currently mapping out the potential fallout of any U.S. aid cuts.
“The Secretary-General looks forward to engaging with the new United States administration on the provision of much needed development support to people grappling with the most difficult challenges confronting the developing world,” Dujarric said. “The United States is one of the largest aid providers and it is vital that we work constructively to jointly shape a strategic path forward.”
U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and 21 other Democratic committee members sent a letter to Rubio asking for a reversal on the foreign assistance freeze and expressing worries over the Trump administration’s recent actions. The group said they are concerned about a variety of steps announced by the new administration that gut core State Department programs and responsibilities — from stopping critical foreign assistance, to suspending the U.S. Refugee Assistance Program, to eliminating diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs that have been in place across multiple administrations, as well as a new anti-DEI prerequisite for receiving foreign assistance.
“These actions undermine America’s credibility and put U.S. diplomats, American implementers, and vulnerable people around the world at risk,” the letter said. “They belie a lack of understanding of the value of diplomacy, the Department of State as an institution, and the work that thousands of dedicated public servants do every day to make the American people safer and more prosperous.”
This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 4:10 PM.
