In ban streak, US State Department halts global mine-clearing programs
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The US State Department has suspended support for global demining efforts, citing a review of foreign aid aligned with a recent executive order by US President Donald Trump.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks after being sworn in by Vice President JD Vance in the Vice Presidential Ceremonial Office in the White House campus, on January 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
The US State Department has announced the end of support for clearing unexploded bombs across the world and instructed humanitarian demining organizations supported by the department to suspend activities "effective immediately", according to an abrupt notice early Saturday.
According to John Ismay, Karen R. Chandler, chief of the State Department's Office of Weapons Reduction and Abatement, wrote an email at 6:26 am stating that the suspension was "consistent with the president's executive order on re-evaluating and realigning United States foreign aid."
Ismay wrote in The New York Times how Chandler's email stated that officials in charge of funding awards to nonprofit demining groups would provide more instructions and thanked the groups for their efforts.
The declaration follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks on his first day of work on Tuesday when he stated that a complete halt in foreign aid was intended "to ensure that our foreign policy is centered on one thing and that is the advancement of our national interests."
Rubio stated that such interests were "clearly defined" during President Trump's campaign as "anything that makes us stronger, safer, or more prosperous."
Ismay questioned whether Rubio or the president understand that unexploded bombs also pose a threat to American lives, as dud submunitions from cluster weapons have historically killed or injured US troops. The State Department's report noted that halting the program affects global efforts to remove munitions, which also improve food security in countries like Sri Lanka and Vietnam, and highlighted the widespread contamination in Ukraine due to the war with Russia.
As per the report, the US is "the world's top supporter of conventional weapons destruction," having donated about $5.1 billion in aid to more than 125 nations since 1993 for unexploded munitions clearance efforts.
Less than a year after Trump's first inauguration, Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis directed his deputy, Patrick M. Shanahan, to reverse a longstanding policy on cluster weapons just months before it would have permanently eliminated them from the Pentagon's arsenal, with Shanahan later citing the DPRK's threat as the reason for keeping them.
During his presidency, Biden maintained Trump's 2020 policy shift, sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, despite reversing a previous ban on anti-personnel land mines in 2022. However, in November 2024, his administration undermined this by supplying Ukraine with artillery rounds containing nonpersistent anti-personnel mines.
The long-term impact of Chandler's request on the several humanitarian demining groups that her office supports is unknown.
Shari Bryan, US director of the Mines Advisory Group, stated they are evaluating the impact of the US government's review of foreign aid, noting their work has received bipartisan support, including from Trump’s first administration.
Chris Whatley, the US director of the HALO Trust, a British-American demining organization with global operations, noted that his organization's actions directly promote the secretary of state's and president's stated aims.
"Fundamentally, this pause in foreign assistance is about evaluating whether they align with President Trump's stated goals of advancing American security and prosperity," Whatley stated Saturday, adding, "We are of the view that demining advances those core priorities."
