“Do you have communist connections?” US sends 36 questions to UN assistance groups

The United Nations assistance agencies have been sent questionnaires from the United States who ask them to declare whether they have “anti -American” beliefs or accessories.

Among the 36 questions in the form sent by the US Management and Budget Office (OMB) and seen by the BBC, is a person who asks if they have any links to communism.

Some of the largest humanitarian organizations have received the questionnaire, including the UN Refugee Agency and the International Red Cross Committee.

The Trump administration has launched an incision of the US government, led by billionaire Elon Musk and closed much of its foreign assistance.

The UN groups fear that the Omb’s move is a sign that the United States is planning to abandon the humanitarian work – or even the UN itself – completely.

The United States withdrew from the World Health Organization on the first day of the second term of President Donald Trump.

This week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the bigger part of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) programs were terminated.

Studies show that Most Americans believe the country exceeds For foreign help.

The United States is spending a lower percentage of its GDP for help from European countries, but due to its huge economy, it still supplies 40% of global humanitarian funding

Many UN help agencies sent to the form receive funding not only from USAID but also directly from the US government.

One question asks: “Can you confirm that your organization does not work with subjects related to communist, socialist or totalitarian parties, or from a party that supports anti -American beliefs? “

Another asks agencies to confirm that they do not receive funding from China, Russia, Cuba or Iran -these countries may not be the best friends of Washington, but like all 193 UN member states, they fund major humanitarian agencies.

Other questions ask agencies for help to ensure that no project includes elements of DEI (diversity, justice and inclusion) or something related to climate change.

This can be uncomfortable for agencies such as Unicef, which supports equal access to education for girls or the worldwide food program, which is trying to prevent hunger by supporting the communities affected by drought to move to more climatic sustainable crops.

Professor Karl Blanche of the University of Humanitarian Studies Center at Geneva believes that help agencies are being created to fail: “The decision has already been made. It is very likely that the United States will stop its participation in any UN system.

“This is multilateral against America first – these are two ends of the spectrum.”

The help agencies working on complex humanitarian operations are more dumb.

“It’s like being asked,” Did you stop beating your child, yes or no? “, Said a disappointed help worker.

The UN assistance agencies believe that the questionnaire misunderstood their basic principles of neutrality and impartiality – that people suffering from war or natural disasters should be supported regardless of political beliefs and that assistance should not be used as a tool to strengthen a particular nation.

UN’s rights have already chosen not to fill out the form.

“Considering that they were the most/no questions with a very limited place to develop and that some of the questions were not applicable to the UN, we were not able to answer the online questionnaires directly,” a spokesman told the BBC.

“Instead, we provided email answers with explanations to those questions where we can provide an answer.”

Some of the questions also reflect the economic interests of the President Trump administration.

There is a request for projects that can influence “efforts to strengthen the US supply chains or to provide rare earthly minerals.”

The BBC addressed the missions of Omb and the United States in the United Nations organization in New York and Geneva for comment.