A staff member of a Ukranian organization reporting war crimes and conflict-related sexual violence said of U.S. cuts: “Now we have a lot of survivors, and we have more people who want to come forward, and we aren’t sure how to work because for three months we haven’t had income. [...] Enthusiastic people are still doing it, but for field missions, you need gas, a car, a place to stay, basic things—field researchers can't do it without them.”
Date: 6/25
Region: Europe & Central Asia
Country: Ukraine
Topic: Governance & Rights, Gender Equality & Inclusion
Policy Lens: Security & Resilience
Entry Type: Field Observation
Additional Context: This quote was collected by Human Rights Watch, or HRW, in an interview with a representative from Truth Hounds, an organization that investigates war crimes in Ukraine and eastern Europe. The project collaborated with Ukrainian investigative authorities to build cases that could be brought to trial in other countries under the principle of universal jurisdiction. It also documented information that could be submitted to the International Criminal Court's, or ICC, prosecutor’s office.
According to HRW, U.S. funding cuts significantly affected the team's ability to collect data, identify and work with survivors, and build up prosecution cases to be presented at the ICC. The loss of funding such as transport and accommodation, for example, made it impossible for the organization to quickly deploy research teams to sites of alleged war crimes. In addition, the organization claims that U.S. cuts affected about 70% of its team, reducing operational capacity of its database approved by the ICC for registry of war crimes.
Devex Researcher Note: Truth Hounds does not publically list funding amounts on its website. However, U.S. government partners had included the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy Kyiv, Freedom House, and the National Endowment for Democracy.
Source: Human Rights Watch