Save the Complex Crises Fund
Oct 25, 2011
20 National Organizations Urge Full Funding for the Complex Crises Fund
Dear Member of Senate/House State Foreign Operations Subcommittee:
Thank you for your work to ensure the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are equipped to effectively advance global peace and stability. As you reconcile the FY 2012 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, we* would like to emphasize the importance of providing civilian agencies with a flexible, unprogrammed fund to help prevent and mitigate international crises. Toward this end, we urge you to fully fund the Senate approved and Administration’s request of $75 million for the Complex Crises Fund. The Senate’s 302(b) levels act in accordance with the Budget Control Act of 2011, while the House levels are significantly lower. This provides an opportunity for the House to increase its allocations while still complying with existing deficit reduction legislation.
As a member of the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, you are well aware of the many challenges U.S. civilian foreign policy agencies face, including years of chronic underfunding and a lack of flexible resources. Without flexible funding, the State Department and USAID are unable to act quickly when conflicts threaten to escalate or to undertake rapid stabilization, prevention, and crisis response activities. The HELP Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, and Albright-Cohen Genocide Prevention Task Force have all recommended such a fund for civilian agencies.
Established in FY2010, the Complex Crises Fund (CCF) has operated on a shoestring budget despite its enormous mandate to prevent and mitigate deadly conflict. In FY2011, the CCF received $40 million – less than half of the Administration’s request. In Kenya, resources from the CCF trained civil society organizations to monitor radio and public events for hate speech in advance of a contentious constitutional referendum. This fund has also been used in Sri Lanka to create jobs that promoted reintegration of combatants and reconciliation of marginalized populations that had faced years of conflict and war.
Despite the CCF’s growing successful track record, the account was completely eliminated in the FY2012 House State and Foreign Operations bill. The Senate approved $75 million in their version of the bill. However, $45 million of this funding is classified as Overseas Contingency Operations. The report language specifically designates this funding for contingency operations including in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and Egypt. The remaining $30 million is available for programming the CCF has supported since its inception. While we support the Senate’s full funding of the request, we are concerned that narrowing the scope of the account to specific countries could hamper its purpose to nimbly respond to emerging violence. We urge prioritizing funding for the CCF’s original purpose.
Thank you for your work to help strengthen the capacities of U.S. civilian agencies to prevent and mitigate international crises. We urge you to continue that leadership by fully funding the Administration’s request of $75 million in unrestricted funds for the Complex Crises Fund in FY2012. Because these difficult economic times require spending every penny of U.S. treasure wisely, we urge careful investment in diplomatic and development capabilities that will undoubtedly save lives and prevent the United States from incurring costly military and reconstruction expenditures.
Sincerely,
3P Human Security
Alliance for Peacebuilding
Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation
Church of the Brethren
Citizens for Global Solutions
Franciscan Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Fund for Peace
Humanity United
Investors Against Genocide
Jewish World Watch
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, University of San Diego
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office
Mercy Corps
The Peace Alliance
Refugees International
Resolve
Sisters of Mercy – Institute Justice Team
The Student Peace Alliance
*The Prevention and Protection Working Group is a coalition of human rights, religious, humanitarian, anti-genocide, peace and other organizations dedicated to improving U.S. government policies and civilian capacities to prevent violent conflict, mass atrocities and protect civilians threatened by such crises.
