…As US pledges $60 million to Sahel force but opposes UN role***
A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender personnel from serving in the US military on Monday.
US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered the government to “revert to the status quo” that was in effect before Trump ordered the contentious ban.
At the same time, however, she allowed to let stand a block on military funding for sex reassignment surgery for members of the armed forces.
Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama took the historic decision to allow openly transgender troops to serve in the military, a move that was due to go into full effect in July this year.
The new administration announced in June a six-month delay on implementing that ruling. In July, Trump surprised Pentagon leaders by announcing on Twitter a ban on transgender people serving in the armed forces.
“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump tweeted.
“Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”
In her ruling, Kollar-Kotelly took issue with Trump’s claims.
“The Department of Defense Working Group, made up of senior uniformed officers and senior civilian officers from each military department, unanimously concluded that there were no barriers that should prevent transgender individuals from serving in the military,” the judge said.
“In short, the military concerns purportedly underlying the president’s decision had been studied and rejected by the military itself.”
Ruling welcomed by rights groups
Trump signed a document in late August ordering the Pentagon to no longer enlist transgender recruits but leaving it to decide the fate of those already serving.
The president also barred federal funds from being used to cover the costs of medical treatment associated with gender reassignment surgery of troops already serving.
He gave the Pentagon until March 23, 2018 to craft a new policy on transgender service members.
The lawsuit against the president’s order was filed by five transgender service members in August, citing the uncertainty that surrounded their future careers.
Estimates about the number of transgender people serving in the US military vary from 1,320 up to 15,000, out of 1.5 million active duty troops.
An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which is battling the ban, predicted that Trump’s moves would face further legal opposition.
“This is the first decision striking down President Trump’s ban, but it won’t be the last,” ACLU senior staff attorney Joshua Block said in a statement.
“The federal courts are recognizing what everyone already knows to be true: President Trump’s impulsive decision to ban transgender people from serving in the military service was blatantly unconstitutional,” Block said.
“We will continue to work to ensure that transgender service members are treated with the equal treatment they deserve.”
The ACLU has filed a separate lawsuit arguing that Trump’s ban violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection by authorizing discriminatory treatment.
Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT advocacy group, welcomed the judge’s ruling, which is expected to be appealed by the Trump administration.
“Today’s preliminary injunction is an important step in the ongoing efforts to protect transgender service members from the dangerous and discriminatory policies of Donald Trump,” HRC legal director Sarah Warbelow said in a statement.
“Donald Trump’s erratic tweets and half-baked orders disrespect the bravery of the countless transgender people who have fought, and in many cases died, for their country,” Warbelow said.
“We are grateful that a federal judge has blocked this administration from discharging any qualified individuals because of their gender identity while these cases continue to make their way through the courts.”
In the meantime, the United States on Monday pledged $60 million to shore up a Sahel region counter-terrorism force but rejected appeals from African leaders and France to give the United Nations a supporting role.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced the bilateral funding as the Security Council met to discuss how to drum up international support to the force set up by Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, known as the “G5”.
“This is a fight we must win, and these funds will play a key role in achieving that mission,” Tillerson said in a statement.
Washington has previously expressed support for the force, and has troops and drone operators in the region supporting operations against Islamist militants. But it opposes United Nations involvement.
“We believe that the G5 force must be first and foremost owned by the countries of the region themselves,” US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council, adding that G5 members must take on “full regional ownership” of the force.
“This is the approach that will be most effective in the end in freeing the region of terror,” said Haley.
The US ambassador also rejected proposals to allow the large UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, to help the joint force, saying its resources must not be overstretched.
She appeared to dismiss a proposal by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to set up a UN office in the Sahel that could provide some oversight to the operations, notably to safeguard human rights.
“We also have serious and well-known reservations about using UN resources to support non-UN activity,” said Haley.
Earlier the council heard the foreign ministers of France and Mali, as well as African Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat appeal for multilateral aid to help the countries bolster their security.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said multilateral backing would be “an important signal of support from the international community to the G5 countries in their struggle against terrorist organisations.”
Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said funding through the United Nations would be “the only option that would guarantee a predictable and sustainable” flow of resources for the force’s joint operations.
“Half-measures will not be sufficient,” warned Mahamat.
The vast Sahel region has turned into a hotbed of lawlessness since chaos engulfed Libya in 2011, the Islamist takeover of northern Mali in 2012 and the rise of Boko Haram in northern Nigeria.
Earlier this month, militants with suspected links to the Islamic State group ambushed and killed four US soldiers on a reconnaissance patrol with Nigerien soldiers near the Niger-Mali border.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali has lost 17 peacekeepers killed in attacks this year, one of the highest tolls from current peace operations.
Guterres told the council that strong political and material support for the force was “indispensable” and said the United Nations could quickly mobilise to help the G5.
In a report sent to the council this month, the UN chief laid out four options for UN support, from setting up a UN office for the Sahel to sharing resources from the large UN mission in Mali.
The United States, which is the UN’s number one financial contributor, appeared to reject all four options.
Washington’s refusal to lend UN backing for the Sahel force comes after the US administration negotiated a $600-million cut to the UN peacekeeping budget this year.
The price tag for the G5 force’s first year of operations is estimated at 423 million euros ($491 million), even though French officials say the budget can be brought down closer to 250 million euros.
Prior to the US pledge of $60 million, only 108 million euros had been raised, including 50 million euros from the five countries themselves. A donor conference will be held in Brussels on December 14.
Guardian NG with additional report from MSN
