No Time to Waste to Implement the Global Fragility Act

Authors: Liz Hume and Richmond Blake

Publication date: September 16, 2020

Abstract: Last December, Congress overwhelmingly adopted the Global Fragility Act (GFA) to end the U.S. government’s outdated, reactive approach to global violence, conflict, and extremism and replace it with a new preventive approach. The first requirement under this innovative law is for the U.S. government to develop a whole-of-government Global Fragility Strategy by September 15, 2020. Unfortunately, the report the Administration delivered to Congress this week fell short of the law’s legal requirements, and the delay threatens to disrupt its implementation at precisely the moment it is needed most to confront global violence resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

If the U.S. government had delivered the comprehensive new plan that Congress mandated, this article includes some of the core provisions it should have prioritized.

About the Authors:

Elizabeth Hume is vice president of the Alliance for Peacebuilding and has 20 years’ leadership experience in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Follow on Twitter @Lizhume4peace.

Richmond Blake is director of policy and advocacy at Mercy Corps. He previously served as a foreign service officer and policy adviser to the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights. Follow on Twitter @richmondpblake.

Together they lead the Global Fragility Act coalition of 65 humanitarian, human rights, and peacebuilding organizations.