In the first and second articles of this series, we presented the United States Strategic Plan for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization in Fragile States, which was launched by the U.S. Congress in 2020 pursuant to the Global Fragility Act (GFA) passed in late 2019.
In the second article, we reviewed fragile states and international indicators to measure the level of fragility in the countries of the world.
We addressed this topic on the occasion of President Joe Biden's submission in late March of his plans to Congress for the implementation of the 10-year Conflict Prevention and Stabilization Strategy, which we address in this article to identify its objectives, mechanisms of action, the countries they target, the basis for their selection, and their ability to prevent conflict and achieve stability.
The Biden administration took two years to prepare the plans after extensive consultations with local stakeholders in priority regions and partner countries, and has an annual budget of about $200 million.
Leadership role
In his message on the occasion of presenting his administration's strategic plan to prevent conflict and promote stability in fragile states for the next ten years, President Biden stressed that the security and prosperity of Americans are directly linked to the security and economic health of people everywhere, and that no country in the world can distance itself from the crises that many countries of the world suffer from conflicts, epidemics and climate change.
Biden emphasized the leadership role of the United States in mobilizing the world to confront these crises and mitigate the impact on societies around the world, explaining that the best strategy to save lives, build lasting stability and disrupt the cycle of violence is to prevent conflicts before they occur.
He explained that these plans are built on local partnerships and raising diverse voices, including the voices of women and youth, recognizing the fact that those closest to challenges are those who know what is needed to achieve peace and progress, and will be implemented in cooperation between the relevant agencies (diplomatic, development, and defense) in the United States, and in cooperation with local and international partners.
"These investments in peace and prosperity will not only generate dividends for priority partner nations in the coming decades, but will promote greater stability, success and security for nations around the world, and help drive progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals," Biden said.
The plans were developed over a period of two years after extensive consultations with local stakeholders in the priority regions and partner countries, namely Haiti, Libya, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea and West African Sahel countries, including Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Togo, and the budget needed for the operational plans allocated to these countries amounts to approximately $200 million annually.
The administration did not specifically explain the reasons for the decision to select these countries from among the world's more than 60 fragile entities, but made clear that it aimed to address the drivers of the conflict with a long-term perspective.
U.S. Targets in Selected Countries
The administration did not specifically explain the reasons for the decision to select these countries from among about 60 fragile entities in the world, but it did explain that it aims to address the drivers of conflict with a long-term perspective to support partner countries' efforts to shape a more peaceful future, through partnerships, analysis, adaptive learning, and through new and existing integrated diplomatic, defense, and development programs.
West African Sahel States
Work with partners at all levels to prevent destabilizing expansion, terrorism and violent extremism.
The United States will take an integrated approach to governance and security to support African-led initiatives and align its efforts with the plans of national governments in targeted countries, mitigating conflict risks and vulnerabilities and promoting social cohesion.
Haitian Creole
Work to promote stability in communities affected by violence and systematically address the drivers of conflict over time, mitigating the impact of future climate shocks.
Libya
Work to lay the foundation for an elected national government capable of governing, providing services and maintaining security throughout the country, leading to security, justice, accountability, reconciliation and completion of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration work.
Mozambique
Support the Government's national plans to promote reconciliation, inclusive and sustainable development, and resilience in marginalized and historically conflict-affected areas, including efforts to address counterterrorism vulnerabilities, promote recovery, and address the root causes of instability in the north, as well as assisting the Government and local partners to promote inclusive economic growth pathways to increase employment opportunities, especially among youth.
Papua New Guinea
Strengthen U.S. partnerships with a key Pacific island nation, seek to strengthen communities' capacity to prevent and respond to chronic violence and conflict, support inclusive, sustainable, and equitable economic growth, improve justice systems, develop the capacity of security forces, advance gender equity and equality, prevent gender-based violence, and strengthen the capacity of women peacebuilding workers.
For their part, the State Department, the Treasury Department, the US Department of Defense and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) issued a joint statement affirming working together to facilitate coordination and cooperation at all levels, and to leverage their respective roles to enhance diplomatic, development, security and programmatic efforts in working on the countries included in President Biden's ten-year strategy.
The State Department and USAID will design flexible and adaptable programs that empower local government, civil society, and civil security partners.
In turn, the Department of Defense supports civil-military engagement, training and equipping partner militaries, building defense institutional capabilities, and professionalizing security forces, while the Treasury leads engagements with international financial institutions to coordinate assistance in line with these lessons-learned plans that identify innovative approaches to support proposed and locally supported solutions, promote resilience, and forge a more peaceful and democratic future by collectively addressing the drivers of conflict and violence and supporting partner countries in the pursuit of To achieve peace and prosperity.
The Guiding Principles of the Implementation Plans emphasized that democratic governance and respect for human rights serve all, and that they are the best way to reduce fragility, promote sustainable development, and mitigate the risks of violent conflict and instability.
Guidelines for plans
The Biden administration added a preliminary introduction to its implementation plans in which it affirmed that it would work on them by adhering to the following principles, in light of the main guidelines of the U.S. plan to prevent conflict and promote stability:
Learn from the past and "play the long game"
Leverage the insights of expert practitioners and academics, build feedback loops in U.S. policy-making and planning processes, and make adjustments based on the results of analysis, research, continuous monitoring, and effectiveness evaluation.
Changing U.S. bureaucratic behavior
The U.S. government exercises a large and sometimes impractical bureaucracy that focuses on carrying out its tasks in accordance with its internal procedures, policies, and budgets without regard to the grand task to be accomplished.
Follow-up of the entire government coalition
Develop a comprehensive conflict prevention and stabilization framework with the participation of all relevant government actors by establishing a new high-level steering committee led by the National Security Council and composed of senior officials of the United States government.
Topic Conversion
Work to transform the stigma of "fragility" into a positive agenda for global fragility law based on Agreement-like partnerships for peace and resilience.
Commitment to pluralism
Invest in multilateral cooperation to promote peace and address fragility in partnership with U.S. allies who also have individual peace agendas working in the same direction, and commit to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many of which align with the Global Fragility Act's goals.
Providing effective consulting
Work to pool efforts with partners willing to address common challenges, present a more positive and committed agenda based on partnership and cost-sharing, and expand cooperation based on mutual respect.
Regional, national and local partners
Participation and mutual ownership of trusted regional, national and local partners in planning and implementation at country and regional levels in order to ensure local knowledge and ownership, support capacity building, create greater accountability and mutual transparency, and engage local authorities, civil society organizations, businesses and communities, with a focus on marginalized and traditionally representative populations.
International Partners
The United Nations, multilateral organizations, like-minded countries interested in addressing the drivers of conflict around the world.
Congress
Provide regular briefings to Congress on progress in implementing the Strategy, and prioritize countries and regions as mandated by the Global Fragility Act.
American People
Engage the American public, civil society, and the private sector in the implementation of the strategy, who are interested in action and the ability to prevent conflict and promote stability.
Raising the level of democracy, human rights and governance
Affirm that democratic governance and respect for human rights serve everyone, and that this approach is the best way to reduce fragility, promote sustainable development, and mitigate the risks of violent conflict and instability.
Mitigating climate change and enhancing environmental security
Consider the impacts and risks of climate change, find ways to address them, find new ways to build resilience to climate change, and deepen our understanding of the links between fragility, peacebuilding and the environment.
Striving for gender justice and equality and other factors
Work to promote respect for human rights and empower women, girls and people of different genders.
Follows.. Why were these particular countries chosen?