Washington, DC – Last evening, the US House passed the Global Fragility Act (H.R. 2116) with broad bipartisan support. The bill demonstrates deep legislative support for peaceful, preventive solutions to stop violent conflict before it begins and build peace where it is needed most.
Contact: Tim McHugh, Friends Committee on National Legislation, media@fcnl.org; 202-903-2515
“As we have seen in dozens of global hotspots, peace does not happen spontaneously or overnight. It is the painstaking work of generations and communities dedicated to living with one another in friendship and community,” said Diane Randall, executive secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). “As Quakers, we are called to love our neighbors. This seemingly simple concept is too often difficult to implement. The Global Fragility Act will provide our diplomats and development professionals with the tools they need to support peaceful resolution of disputes and grievances that otherwise might escalate into armed conflict.”
The Global Fragility Act strengthens the government’s capacity to address the root causes of violence, which is taking an increasingly harsh economic and human toll. It mandates the development of a long-term, government-wide strategy to address fragility and violence in priority countries and provides critical funds to reduce and prevent violence.
“World-wide levels of violence are at a 25-year peak, undercutting stability, reversing development gains, and spurring a global migration crisis not seen since World War II. In fact, violence has surpassed natural disasters as the main driver behind forced displacement of people,” said Diana Ohlbaum, FCNL’s senior strategist and legislative director for foreign policy. “We spend billions of dollars trying to contain and stop violence after it has begun. The Global Fragility Act would ensure preventive action is taken not only in countries with high levels of violence and instability. By prioritizing prevention, our efforts will save lives and may stop wars.”
Similar legislation in the Senate (S.727) has been introduced by Sens. Chris Coons (DE) and Lindsey Graham (SC). A previous version of the bill, the Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act, passed the full House in the last Congress. By passing this new legislation, the House reaffirmed its support for a peaceful approach to preventing global violence.
To learn more, please visit www.fcnl.org.
