The United States will stop sending relief through some United Nations programs President Donald Trump has deemed "ineffective," and instead will go through USAID and faith-based groups directly, Vice President Mike Pence said.
Pence made the remarks Wednesday night in a speech to the Defense of Christians annual Solidarity Dinner for Christians in the Middle East, The Hill reported.
While not specifying which particular programs he was referring to, Pence said the U.N. has "often failed to help the most vulnerable communities, especially religious minorities," and "We will no longer rely on the United Nations alone to assist persecuted Christians and minorities in the wake of genocide and the atrocities of terrorist groups."
Going forward, he said, the United States will work with faith-based groups and private organizations to assist those persecuted for their faith.
The U.N. has repeatedly denied many of those groups funding even though they have "proven track records."
"Our fellow Christians and all who are persecuted in the Middle East should not have to rely on multinational institutions when America can help them directly," he said.
"Let me assure you [Wednesday night], President Trump and I see these crimes for what they are: vile acts of persecution animated by hatred for Christians and the gospel of Christ," Pence said. "And so, too, does this president know who and what has perpetrated these crimes and he calls them by name: radical Islamic terrorists."
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