Relief organization US funding for the ICRC not affected by cuts for the time being
According to ICRC Director-General Pierre Krähenbühl, the USA has not yet cut funding to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). However, the organization has imposed a hiring freeze as a precautionary measure, Krähenbühl said in an interview.
10.04.2025, 07:11
SDA
The ICRC does not receive its US funding via the US development agency USAID, which has been severely affected by President Donald Trump's austerity measures, Krähenbühl said in an interview with the French-speaking Swiss daily newspaper "Le Temps" on Thursday.
The funding for the organization comes from the US State Department. It accounts for 25 percent of the ICRC's budget, Krähenbühl said. If this part were to be cut, the impact on the organization would be considerable. As a precautionary measure, the ICRC has therefore taken "measures amounting to 50 million Swiss francs", said the Director. The new appointments planned in the budget had been suspended.
Dialogue with the USA
Historically, the ICRC has always benefited from bipartisan support in the USA. What intentions the current administration has for the future are not known, said Krähenbühl. The organization remains in dialogue with the US authorities. This focuses on the added value that the organization provides in armed conflicts.
The ICRC had also responded to a questionnaire from the US government on the relevance of its activities. The organization's main objective is to protect the civilian population in wars and to defend international humanitarian law.
Krähenbühl said that it was not only the USA that was making financial cuts. "Several European countries are doing the same," he said. They were prioritizing defence and reducing their humanitarian support. The ICRC Director recalled the financial crisis that the organization had experienced in the last two years. The budget had been cut by 700 million francs to 2.1 billion francs.
