Global Fragility Act

The Global Fragility Act (GFA) was passed by Congress as part of the 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act (see section on GFA here) and signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019. Enactment of this bill represented a historic victory for the peacebuilding field, which long advocated for the GFA as a game-changing way forward to prevent and reduce violent conflict. In December 2020, the U.S. government released the first-ever comprehensive U.S. government strategy to tackle and prevent spiraling global conflict. In April 2022, President Biden announced the priority contexts for implementation: Haiti, Libya, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, and Coastal West Africa (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, and Togo).

The Alliance for Peacebuilding and Mercy Corps co-lead a non-partisan coalition of more than 100 peacebuilding, humanitarian, development, and faith-based organizations that work closely with Congress and the Administration to ensure successful implementation of the GFA.

Read AfP and OEF’s GFA Implementation Report.

Read AfP and Our Secure Future’s GFA Implementation Report: Gender Companion.

Read AfP and Peace Direct’s report on local peacebuilder perspectives on the GFA here.

Read AfP’s Report on Ethiopia and the GFA here.

Read AfP’s Report on How Congress Can Break Down Barriers to GFA Implementation here.

Global Fragility Strategy

U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability (released December 18, 2020)
- United States Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability: Country and Regional Plan Summaries (March 24, 2023)
  - Haiti (English; French)
  - Libya (English; Arabic)
  - Mozambique (English; Portuguese)
  - Papua New Guinea (English)
  - Coastal West Africa (English; French)
- Letter to Certain Congressional Committees on Implementing the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability (March 24, 2023)
- FACT SHEET: President Biden Submits to Congress 10-Year Plans to Implement the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability (March 24, 2023)
- Prologue to the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability (April 1, 2022)
- Letter from the President on the Implementation of the Global Fragility Act (April 1, 2022)
- Report to Congress Pursuant to Section 504(c) of the Global Fragility Act (September 15, 2020)

Coalition Statements on the Global Fragility Strategy

Texts and Sponsors

House of Representatives: H.R. 2116

House sponsors include Representatives Engel (D-NY), McCaul (R-TX), A. Smith (D-WA), Wagner (R-MO), Keating (D-MA), Rooney (R-FL), Lieu (D-CA), Wright (R-TX), Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Malinowski (D-NJ), Sherman (D-CA), Omar (D-MN), Cooper (D-TN), Beyer (D-VA), Pingree (D-ME), Pence (R-IN), Kim (D-NJ), Kind (D-WI), McGovern (D-MA), Case (D-HI), Bass (D-CA).

H.R. 2116 passed the House of Representatives on May 20, 2019.

Senate: S.727

Senate sponsors include Senators Coons (D-DE), Graham (R-SC), Merkley (D-OR), Rubio (R-FL), and Young (R-IN), Baldwin (D-WI), Casey (D-PA), Boozman, (R-AR), Markey (D-MA), Cardin (D-MD), Gardner (R-CO), Casey (D-PA), Durbin (D-IL), Collins (R-ME), Kaine (D-VA), Peters (D-MI), Cantwell (D-WA), Blumenthal (D-CT), Shaheen (D-NH), Isakson (R-GA), Van Hollen (D-MD), Wyden (D-OR), Klobuchar (D-MN), Hassan (D-NH), Reed (D-RI), King (I-ME), Murphy (D-CT), Hirono (D-HI).

S.727 was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 25, 2019.

A previous version, the Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act, was introduced as H.R. 5273 and S. 3368 in 2018. It passed the House by a vote of 376-16 in November 2018.

Statements from Congress

Statements from Congressional Hearings

Under Secretary Confirmation Hearing: Uzra Zeya written testimony by Uzra Zeya, Nominee for Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights—Senate Foreign Relations Committee
USAID Administrator Confirmation Hearing written statement from Samantha Powers, USAID Administrator —Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Secretary of State Confirmation Hearing video transcript from Antony Blinken, Secretary of State—Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Deputy Secretary Confirmation Hearing: Sherman/McKeon video transcript from Senator Coons—Senate Foreign Relations Committee
“Stemming a Receding Tide: Human Rights and Democratic Values in Asia” written testimony by Derek Mitchell, President, National Democratic Institute—U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation
“A Year Out: Addressing International Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic” video testimony from Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, Mercy Corps CEO—U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee

Summary

What the GFA Accomplishes:

Focuses U.S. foreign assistance on preventing violence and conflict in fragile countries;
Saves U.S. taxpayers money by addressing the prevention and the causes of violent conflict rather than the costlier approach of containing it;
Increases transparency and accountability by mandating biennial reports to Congress and the American people;
Strengthens research to identify the foreign assistance programs and diplomatic approaches that are most effective at preventing violence and conflict;
Dedicates $1.15 billion over the next five years for conflict prevention and peacebuilding in countries at risk of violence and conflict.

Download GFA 2-page Brief