FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2018
CONTACT
Christy Delafield | 202.394.1712 | cdelafield@mercycorps.org
Laura Strawmyer | 317.340.1085 | laura@allianceforpeacebuilding.org
WASHINGTON, DC – 35 Alliance for Peacebuilding members and partners welcome H.R. 5273, the Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act of 2018, introduced by Representatives Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ted Poe (R-TX), Mike McCaul (R-TX), Adam Smith (D-WA), Bill Keating (D-MA), and Paul Cook (R-CA) in the United States House of Representatives. This timely legislation would require the U.S. government – in collaboration with global civil society – to develop a 10-year strategy to bring down current levels of global violence and better address the root causes of violence, violent conflict, and fragility that drive recurrent global crises.
Violence containment costs the global economy $14.3 trillion each year – 13% of global GDP. This makes violence containment one of the largest industries in the world. Violence and violent conflict, rather than natural disasters, are now the primary driver of forced displacement and migration worldwide. Yet, according to Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development (OECD) data, major global donors spend roughly 1% of total overseas development assistance on peacebuilding and conflict management and 8% on politics, justice, and security. This means we’re spending just 9% of international funds addressing violence and its causes, while 91% on development challenges often caused or exacerbated by violence.
It is high time for the United States to make violence reduction and prevention more central elements of its foreign policy and assistance. The Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act of 2018 applies best practices from some of the U.S. government’s most effective and renowned foreign assistance programs – notably the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Feed the Future, and Water for the World – to provide the administration the guidance, authorities, funds and flexibility it needs to better tackle violence and conflict overseas.
Below is a list of organizations that endorse this legislation. We look forward to working with Congress and the Administration to move the effort forward.
- Alliance for Peacebuilding
- American Friends Service Committee
- CARE
- Carl Wilkens Fellowship
- Center for Civilians in Conflict
- Center on Conscience & War
- Charity & Security Network
- Chemonics
- Church of the Brethren, Office of Public Witness
- Conference of Major Superiors of Men
- Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, US Provinces
- Cure Violence
- Educators Institute for Human Rights
- Friends Committee on National Legislation
- Global Communities
- Humanity United Action
- i-ACT
- International Alert
- International Crisis Group
- International Rescue Committee
- Jewish World Watch
- Karuna Center for Peacebuilding
- Mercy Corps
- National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
- National Latino Evangelical Coalition
- Pax Christi International
- Pax Christi USA
- Peace Direct
- PRBB Foundation
- SaferWorld
- Search for Common Ground
- STAND: Student-Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities
- Stop Genocide Now
- World Relief
- World Vision