This legislative ask is designed to be shared with your members of Congress and their staff.

Today, the world faces high levels of violence and more active armed conflict than at any point since World War II. The instability created by these conflicts, including the wars in Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza, is compounded by the ongoing global food crisis, historic levels of forced migration and climate shocks.  

Support robust funding for peacebuilding accounts in the FY25 State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations bill

In the face of this political destabilization, violence, and fragility, Quakers are called to “seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:14). Peacebuilding is a critical tool for preventing, responding to and recovering from such crises. Increasing support for peacebuilding efforts can help prevent sudden outbreaks of violence and heal fractured communities. This in turn reduces the need for humanitarian aid and enables the pursuit of sustainable economic development, climate adaptation, good governance, and the protection of human rights.  

Peacebuilding and conflict prevention programs reduce violent conflict and human suffering while saving taxpayer dollars. Yet, U.S. support for this work has been persistently underfunded.

We urge you to support robust funding for peacebuilding programs to prevent and reduce violent conflict in the Fiscal Year 2025 State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs (SFOPs) Appropriations bill.

The FY25 SFOPs bill should include no less than:

  • $75 million for the Complex Crises Fund, which enables USAID to respond to early warning signs and escalating conflicts with the aim of preventing mass violence. It is the only account of its kind and is used to quickly fill immediate, short-term funding gaps during emergent crises.
  • $40 million for Reconciliation Programs, which enables the Center for Conflict and Violence Prevention at USAID to conduct people-to-people reconciliation programs to advance reconciliation between different ethnic, racial, religious, or political groups in areas of civil trouble and war.
  • $25 million for Atrocities Prevention, which enables the Department of State to implement the 2022 U.S. Strategy to Anticipate, Prevent, and Respond to Atrocities, the recommendations of the inter-agency Atrocity Prevention Task Force, and other programs aimed at preventing mass atrocities and genocide. 

 

Contact: Ursala Knudsen-Latta, Legislative Director for Peacebuilding, uknudsen-latta@fcnl.org