Additional Context: This information was collected by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, from a survey conducted with 17 humanitarian actors at the regional and field level. Instead of deploying these teams, the OHCHR relied on remote media monitoring as the main source of information and updates on human rights violations during election periods in the region.

Devex Researcher Note: OHCHR surge teams are often deployed before, during, and after election periods, when the risk of politically motivated violence and suppression of opposition are the highest. Although the U.S. is not mentioned as solely responsible for this scaleback of operations, the cuts made to the OHCHR were significant. In 2024, the U.S. was largest donor at about $36 million. From 2025 onwards, the U.S. has not announced any funding for the OHCHR. Other U.N. agencies have similarly been forced to withdraw voluntary funds to the OHCHR in order to reprioritize the usage of their own limited funds, similarly affected by funding cuts.

Source: OCHA