GENEVA/WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s administration has in recent weeks weighed cutting ties with the UN refugee agency, prompting a campaign by diplomats and UN officials to persuade the United States to maintain support, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Eight sources, including diplomats, aid sources and a congressional source, told Reuters that Washington — historically UNHCR’s largest donor — has been considering disengaging from the agency. Several said a decision had been expected last week, but no announcement was made, suggesting that the lobbying effort may have helped delay or avert a move.

Reuters granted the sources anonymity to speak about UN relations with the US.

UNHCR is a separate body from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The latter deals solely with Palestinian refugees and those descended from Arabs displaced in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, while UNHCR is global.

The US deliberations over leaving UNHCR, which was created in the aftermath of World War II to help refugees fleeing war, persecution and violence, follow a disagreement over the appointment of the deputy high commissioner, five of the sources said.

They said that the agency had informed supporters that it could be placed on a US blacklist, ending funding, and that Washington could also withdraw from its governing Executive Committee.

Any end to US funding would seriously weaken the agency at a time of near-record levels of displacement around the world amid long-running conflicts like Ukraine and Sudan, diplomats and aid officials said.

“People have been alerted by UNHCR to call friends in the administration,” a source at an aid group involved in the talks told Reuters, saying that many had done so. “They are at least thinking about it,” the source added.

Another diplomat said UNHCR officials had asked supporters in the past week to use all available diplomatic channels with the United States to urge ongoing support.

A UN refugee agency........

© The Times of Israel