Mizzima-Sept 24
A new report from Human Rights Myanmar warns that US c cuts to foreign aid could result in up to 200,000 excess deaths in Myanmar by 2030, including more than 21,000 children, raising questions over whether such policies amount to crimes against humanity. The findings follow President Donald Trump’s 20 January executive order cancelling over 80 percent of USAID’s global programs under an “America First” realignment. The cancellations included $1.1 billion earmarked for Myanmar, halting support for vaccinations, HIV and tuberculosis treatment, malaria prevention, and malnutrition programs. Within days, hospitals and clinics along the Thai-Myanmar border shut their doors, while the World Food Program warned that more than one million people faced acute hunger. Human Rights Myanmar estimates that the six-year toll from the U.S. decision will reach 165,000–200,000 excess deaths, disproportionately affecting children, the elderly, and displaced families.
The rights group argues that the deliberate withdrawal of life-saving aid, despite internal US government warnings and repeated appeals from humanitarian organizations, could fit the definition of “extermination” or “other inhumane acts” under the Rome Statute governing crimes against humanity. “The U.S. Government knowingly engineered a drastic aid cut despite repeated warnings from both internal and humanitarian stakeholders of catastrophic mortality,” the report states. The group concludes that the US decision has deepened Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis and exposed a critical gap in international law. Read more at:
