Reps. Sara Jacobs, John James Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Reauthorize Global Fragility Act; Invest in Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding
Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA-51) and Rep. John James (MI-10), Ranking Member and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, introduced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and strengthen the Global Fragility Act – a landmark initiative to prevent and minimize violent conflict and promote stability around the world. The legislation focuses U.S. foreign assistance on conflict prevention and peacebuilding in countries at risk of violence and conflict and saves U.S. taxpayer dollars by proactively addressing the root causes of conflict, rather than only attempting to contain it.
The Global Fragility Reauthorization Act would reauthorize the Prevention and Stabilization Fund (PSF) and the Complex Crises Fund (CCF) – to prevent violence, stabilize conflict-affected areas, and prevent or respond to new or unexpected conflicts – until 2029. It enables the PSF and Economic Support Fund (ESF) to be used for cross-cutting monitoring, evaluation, and learning across diplomatic, development, and security sectors to identify the most effective foreign assistance programs and diplomatic approaches. The legislation also requires an annual senior Global Fragility Act Steering Committee meeting on policy alignment. In 2022, the Biden Administration selected four priority countries and one priority region to apply 10-year strategies pursuant to the Global Fragility Act: Mozambique, Haiti, Papua New Guinea, Libya, and Coastal West Africa (Ghana, Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, and Guinea).
Rep. Sara Jacobs said: “Americans are safer when there’s less conflict and violence around the world, but the U.S. approach to addressing conflict has often been misguided and costly in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia – and in some cases, has worsened conflict. The Global Fragility Act sought to correct these mistakes and implement an innovative, whole-of-government approach to prevent, minimize, and respond to conflict and instability. These initiatives save both American lives and taxpayer dollars – helping to prevent U.S. service members from being pulled into foreign conflicts and expensive programming to prevent conflict from spiraling further. I’m proud to introduce bipartisan legislation to reauthorize this critical initiative to help build a more stable and secure world for all.”
Rep. John James said: “The Global Fragility Act is a critically important tool to tackle rising instability throughout the world and especially in Africa. This legislation will reauthorize the two accounts that fund the Global Fragility Act until 2029 and will allow programs to be considered on the long-term timeline intended by the original legislation. As instability spreads throughout the Sahel it is integral that this authorization is used to support our Coastal West African partners in both their short and long-term fight against violent extremism.”
The following organizations endorse the legislation: Alliance for Peacebuilding, Mercy Corps, Charity & Security Network, Church of the Brethren, Office of Peacebuilding and Policy, Foreign Policy for America, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Fund for Peace Inc., Futures Without Violence, Invisible Children, Journal of Social Encounters, Nonviolent Peaceforce, PartnersGlobal, Peace Direct, Priority Sustainable Counterterrorism portfolio, New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, Search for Common Ground, ShelterBox USA, and The Borgen Project.
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