Trump Administration Shifts Funds From Human Rights to Supporting Far-Right Causes

The US State Department directed millions of dollars originally earmarked to promote human rights to promote far-right causes including Afrikaner rights in South Africa, safeguarding “Western civilizational norms,” and documenting “backsliding” in Europe related to mass migration, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

The funds, which come from the nearly $177 million in Democracy Funds, were obligated despite concerns and holds by the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the source said. They were due to lapse on Wednesday, the last day of the fiscal year.

The proposed causes align with the Trump administration’s broader shifts away from traditional human rights to focus on causes like alleged free-speech suppression and mass migration in Europe as well as “natural rights.” Two of the proposed grants are focused on Brazil and South Africa – countries where the administration has clashed with the governments – and a third is focused on Nigeria, where the administration has alleged “mass slaughter” of Christians.

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Typically, the money from the Democracy Funds is used to support programs in authoritarian countries or those with limited democracies, the source said. Instead, the proposed grants, which were first reported by The Guardian, include funding for programs in Europe and the United Kingdom.

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The proposed grants that had holds include one to combat alleged judicial overreach and censorship in Brazil. {snip}

Other proposed grants focus on Europe, including a $5 million award to support the development of “a civilizational alliance in Europe through research, public debates, and policy reform to safeguard freedom of expression, political competition, and national sovereignty.”

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