Download the statement.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 8, 2019

CONTACT

Laura Strawmyer | 317.340.1085 | laura@allianceforpeacebuilding.org

WASHINGTON – The Alliance for Peacebuilding President and CEO Uzra Zeya issued the following statement on the introduction of the Global Fragility Act:

Yesterday’s introduction of the Global Fragility Act in the House and Senate marks a major milestone toward reorienting how the U.S. government addresses global violence and fragility.

Fragility and violence underpin many of today’s most pressing foreign policy crises, from violent extremism and mass migration, to humanitarian emergencies. This bill will give the U.S. Government the tools it needs to work in a more coordinated fashion to reduce and prevent conflict over the long term, saving lives and taxpayer resources.

H.R. 1580 and S. 727 rightly authorize the use of existing foreign assistance funds to support a Global Fragility Initiative or Strategy. These resources will be critical to implement the effort effectively. These bills build upon versions introduced in the House and Senate in 2018. In November, a version passed the House with 376 votes and widespread bipartisan support for prevention as a key pillar of national security policy.

We thank the cosponsors for their leadership, including Chairman Engel and Ranking Member McCaul, along with Reps. Smith, Wagner, Keating, and Rooney, and Senators Coons, Graham, Merkley, Rubio, and Young. We also thank them for recognizing the bipartisan American interest in such an effort. As AfP found in a 2017 survey with Conciliation Resources, 85% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans agree that, “Peacebuilding plays a vital role in ending violent conflicts…in the U.S., we should be investing more resources in this.”

AfP urges Congress to reconcile these two bills with an eye towards supporting civil society-led efforts to strengthen good governance, conflict resolution, and violence reduction capacity over the long-term, and to pass the GFA as quickly as possible.

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 The Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) is the leading global network for organizations working to end conflict and build sustainable peace worldwide. Our 100-plus members include some of the world’s largest development organizations, most innovative academic institutions, and the most powerful peacebuilding groups. We bring together coalitions in key areas of strategy and policy to elevate the entire peacebuilding field, tackling issues too large for any one organization to address alone. You can find out more about the Alliance for Peacebuilding on their website: allianceforpeacebuilding.org