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Foreign
Assistance Act Reform
Major Milestone! Strong potential to include significant
peacebuilding funding and infrastructure
After
years of advocacy, our efforts are helping to change the conversation!
April 27, 2010
Advocating
for peacebuilding in Washington D.C. has never been an easy task, as
many of you know. Last week at the Dirksen Senate building, I found
myself overwhelmed with emotion. But for once the emotion stemmed from
deep appreciation rather than frustration.
Recently, Washington D.C. has seen a
breakthrough for the field of international peacebuilding. As part of
the Foreign Assistance Act Reform (the legislation that put USAID into
place), there is a brand new section on peacebuilding and conflict
mitigation. Members of Congress, specifically House Foreign Affairs
Committee Chairman Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), now recognize the
integral relationship between development and peacebuilding, as violence
can be considered development in reverse. As such, Rep. Berman
requested that leaders of the international peacebuilding community, led
by Chic Dambach of Alliance for Peacebuilding and Lisa Schirch of 3D
Security, draft a concept paper on what the peacebuilding
section of the bill should include. Aaron Voldman and myself,
representing The Peace Alliance and Student Peace Alliance in D.C., were
asked to contribute to the concept paper. This concept paper provided
the opportunity to place a peacebuilding
framework into our foreign affairs policy and gain recognition of
peacebuilding as a national priority. An opportunity brought
about in many ways by your continued persistence and commitment to
furthering peacebuilding within our federal government.
Last month the concept paper was handed
to the House Foreign Affairs Committee who used it in developing a joint
discussion paper with the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on
peacebuilding. This discussion paper's first page reads like our
messaging of the last five years. I have never seen a piece of
writing from the government so clearly lay out the problems of
our current foreign policy approach and also offer solutions that are aligned with what
we have advocated for since the beginning of our work. Here are some
important highlights:
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1) A joint USAID-State Council with the mandate to foster a
unified and clear peacebuilding approach within the State Department
and USAID that will enable these agencies to assume meaningful
responsibility for peacebuilding policy and programming, including
crisis management, contingency operations and conflict prevention, and
provide the capacity to effectively mobilize and target resources.
There exists a strong
contingent of advocates calling for this Council to be named the
Peacebuilding Council.
2) The Director of the
Council would be nominated by the President
3) The new council would
conduct conflict and risk assessments on an annual basis
4) Training in conflict
prevention and mitigation would be required of certain Foreign Service
Officers.
5) The President would be
directed to establish a standing interagency coordination mechanism
specifically to address early action and preventive measures.
You can find both the  concept paper and the Committees' discussion paper online at our website. They
will also be on DoPeace, where I look forward to hearing your thoughts
and will be happy to answer any questions.
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Last
week the Committees held an open meeting for feedback on the discussion
paper and over 75 representatives from the peacebuilding field
attended! The staffers answered questions, provided some insight and
most importantly of all, listened. It was clear by the end that they
really get it. When I went up to shake the hand of the main
drafter of the discussion paper I nearly cried as I shared with her my
appreciation for all that she has done and all that she continues to do
to move this forward.
These changes represent the growing
commitment of our government to peacebuilding. The staffers, and
those in the peacebuilding field, also recognize the need for the
Administration to come forward with a mission and strategy for security
that will provide a framework for these possible changes. We still have
questions and some concerns about the discussion paper (such as the
lack of coordination with civil society) and many organizations
(including Alliance for Peacebuilding and 3D Security) have submitted
response papers to the Committees to help strengthen it.
We have been honored that The Peace
Alliance and Student Peace Alliance have been a part of this process.
We are excited to see what makes it into the final bill. Regardless,
the bottom line is that the peacebuilding conversation is happening
in Washington D.C. The conversation we have been working for, of
how to make peacebuilding a true federal priority and central to our
policy-making, is actually occurring at the highest levels of
government, even more than we know. There remain a lot of questions as
we work to come to consensus on the solutions to the problems
articulated in the discussion paper. These discussions, and the
proposed new structures, represent a huge step for the field of
international peacebuilding.
We will keep you updated about the
progress of the legislation and possible opportunities for support. Be
proud of the impact The Peace Alliance and Student Peace Alliance has
had on the role of peacebuilding in our federal government. We continue
to have a measurable impact in the nation's capital.
I am proud to represent The Peace
Alliance and Student Peace Alliance in Washington D.C. Now is
finally our time!
Thank you for your continued commitment
to this cause,
Julia Simon-Mishel
D.C. Staff of The Peace Alliance
Student Peace Alliance Managing Director
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