Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the Western Balkans have been blindsided by President Donald Trump‘s sudden three-month freeze of US foreign aid. Some NGOs were dependent on USAID funding in their efforts to serve and support vulnerable and marginalised communities. Funds were also used to promote vital reforms in the judiciary and in the finance and energy sectors.
In Kosovo, where Washington has invested $2 billion since 1999, USAID has been responsible for dispensing one billion to assist the country’s integration into the EU and various Euro-Atlantic institutions as well as to help bolster the economic growth of its small and medium-sized businesses. As a result of the Trump presidential order, all foreign assistance-funded programmes and grants lacking a waiver specifically approved by the US Secretary of State have been put on hold. The only exceptions are life-saving humanitarian assistance programmes which have been authorised to continue or resume work, according to a USAID response to a query by the Associated Press wire service.
Blendi Hasaj of the GAP Institute public policy think tank said that USAID has suspended funding for 18 projects worth about $162 million, affecting public institutions involved in taxation, procurement processes and other areas. Ariana Qosaj Mustafa, chair of the Kosovo Women’s Network, which represents about 140 NGOs, said some organisations have had their funding stopped. “Everybody is uncertain what will happen and how this will continue,” she said. “This is very worrisome, especially in our area, where we have instability, and financial instability can cause even more potential unrest.”
Freezing funding for gender and diversity-related projects is of special concern in so conservative a country. US assistance has helped support women’s groups, women’s rights, property rights, economic development and related activities. The freeze could leave women’s groups “stranded and unsupported,” Mustafa cautioned, noting the need “to see what will happen and how gender and diversity will be continued — in what forms.” It would also send “a strong signal to the European Union to actually extend more support, not just financially, but any kind of support,” she observed.
Kosovo-Serbia ties remain tense since the end of the 1998-1999 war. Serbia does not recognise Kosovo’s independence, proclaimed in 2008. Efforts by the EU and the United States to normalise Kosovo-Serbia have brought little change.
Milorad Dodik, president of a Serb-dominated part of Bosnia, was quick to welcome the suspension of US foreign aid, claiming its funding had been used to “dehumanise” societies and “eliminate” politicians throughout the world.
According to Emina Bosnjak, executive director of the Sarajevo Open Centre, Washington’s move represented a major setback for many marginalised groups given the number of USAID-funded projects that focused on tackling and raising awareness of discrimination, violence and hate speech. “Stronger narratives that stand against human rights and stand against democracy and rule of law will actually become more visible,” she warned.
