FCNL signed a letter to President Trump urging him to fill a key leadership position at the State Department. The highest level of diplomatic efforts are desperately needed to address conflict across Africa.
Aug 1, 2017
Dear President Trump:
We write as humanitarian, development and relief organizations, peace and security experts, churches and religious communities, scholars, and other civil society leaders with experience working in Africa and on US-Africa policy. We would like to express our appreciation for your Administration’s announcement through USAID on July 7th of increased funding for humanitarian assistance for famine risk, violence, and forced displacement issues. These resources are vital to saving human lives in Africa as well as U.S. interests. Besides lifesaving humanitarian assistance, the highest level diplomatic efforts are desperately needed and we would therefore respectfully urge you to swiftly nominate an Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.
As representatives of organizations with wide and diverse experience and missions, we are collectively aware of the vital role of the United States in bilateral relationships across Africa. The Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs is pivotal in helping lead and implement strategic and tactical plans for U.S. engagement on the continent and ensure there is sufficient diplomatic attention on ending crises that are contributing to unprecedented food crises. Additionally, at a time of growing economic connectivity and ongoing challenges and opportunities, this partnership is more vital than ever.
An Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs will help continue to foster growing economic interaction between Africa and the United States to our collective mutual benefit. For example:
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over the previous five years two-way trade between Africa and the United States exceeded \$359 billion, and in the first quarter of 2017 has already surpassed \$17.4 billion.
From 2010-2015, the economies of Africa continued to grow at a combined 3.3%, outpacing global growth of 2.97%.
While there are these opportunities, the challenges are unlikely to remain Africa-only. Just two examples:
Boko Haram and other armed groups in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin continue to pose a major threat to US interests on the continent and to threaten and harm civilian populations. While it is unclear what the actual ties are, Boko Haram has openly pledged allegiance to ISIS and the risks associated with instability and poor governance in Africa should be considered a high priority for US policy. Ongoing wars and violence in places like South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi contribute to the current global refugee crisis, human trafficking, and illicit trade in weapons, minerals, and other goods that directly affect the United States and our allies.
As we have seen with Ebola and other health crises, outbreaks of disease fueled by poverty and lack of development can rapidly become global pandemics that reach our own borders and require massive international responses.
An Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs could help confront these and ongoing challenges by:
Partnering with African nations, international organizations, and civil society to better prevent and counter violent extremism, particularly through improved governance, development, and peacebuilding activities.
Strengthening long term governance capacity while helping with more immediate infrastructure and food challenges, and perhaps most pressingly, the millions across the continent facing famine.
Addressing refugee flows and working to increase the opportunity for each person on the continent to seize opportunities to live within their country with dignity, freedom, responsibility, and prosperity.
An Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs is essential to ongoing economic growth between Africa and the United States, helping cooperatively address challenges and leverage opportunities, and ensuring the effectiveness of rule of law, justice, anti-corruption, and long-term development programming. Collectively these actions will strengthen security and increase trade between Africa and the United States, while helping improve the lives of millions both in Africa and the United States.
We understand that there is an ongoing examination of the structure within the State Department which made lead to reforms and reorganization. However, given the current levels of instability and food shortage on the continent are of such a nature that the United States cannot wait to engage. Without high-level leadership specific to Africa, US diplomacy and development investments on the continent risk neglect and atrophy, reducing our effectiveness as a global leader and undermining US interests and the ability for whatever new structure does take place to be effective.
As you continue to establish your leadership team we write to urge the swift nomination for an Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.
Sincerely,
21st Century Wilberforce Initiative
Act4Accountability
Alliance for Peacebuilding
American Values Network
Center for Civilians in Conflict
Charity and Security Network
Darfur and Beyond
Educators’ Institute for Human Rights
Enough Project
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Friends in Solidarity, Inc.
iACT
Invisible Children
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jubilee Campaign
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Mercy Corps
Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (Concordia University)
Office of Public Witness, Church of the Brethren
Peace Direct
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Refugees International
STAND: The Student-Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities
Search for Common Ground
Stop Genocide Now