22 U.S.C. § 9803 — Global fragility strategy

Page 2300 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 9762 1 So in original. Probably should be followed by ‘‘the’’. Section 131, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is section 131 of title I of div. J of Pub. L. 116–94, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3034, which is not classified to the Code. § 9762. Prohibition on construction of provisions of this chapter as an authorization for the use of military force Nothing in this chapter may be construed as an authorization for the use of military force. (Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title I, § 182, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3048.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this title’’, meaning title I of div. J of Pub. L. 116–94, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3030, known as the Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and Develop- ment Act of 2019, and also as the VERDAD Act of 2019, which is classified principally to this chapter. For com- plete classification of title I to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 9701 of this title and Tables. § 9763. Termination The requirement to impose sanctions under this chapter shall terminate on December 31, 2023. (Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title I, § 183(b), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3048.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this title’’, meaning title I of div. J of Pub. L. 116–94, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3030, known as the Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and Develop- ment Act of 2019, and also as the VERDAD Act of 2019, which is classified principally to this chapter. For com- plete classification of title I to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 9701 of this title and Tables. CHAPTER 105—GLOBAL FRAGILITY Sec. 9801. Appropriate congressional committees de- fined. 9802. Statement of policy. 9803. Global fragility strategy. 9804. Selection of priority countries and regions. 9805. Priority country and regional plans. 9806. Implementation. 9807. Biennial reports and congressional consulta- tion. 9808. Authorization of appropriations. 9809. Improving and leveraging assistance for the global fragility strategy. 9810. Rule of construction. § 9801. Appropriate congressional committees de- fined In this chapter: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- mittees’’ means— (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. (2) Relevant Federal department or agency The term ‘‘relevant Federal department or agency’’ means the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Devel- opment, the Department of Defense, the De- partment of 1 Treasury, and any other Federal department or agency the President deter- mines is relevant to carry out the purposes of this chapter. (Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title V, § 502, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3060.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title V, § 501, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3060, provided that: ‘‘This title [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Global Fragility Act of 2019’.’’ § 9802. Statement of policy It is the policy of the United States to seek to stabilize conflict-affected areas and prevent vio- lence and fragility globally, including by— (1) ensuring that all relevant Federal depart- ments and agencies coordinate to achieve co- herent, long-term goals for programs designed to carry out such policy; (2) seeking to improve global, regional, and local coordination of relevant international and multilateral development and donor orga- nizations regarding efforts to carry out such policy; and (3) enhancing the effectiveness of United States foreign assistance programs and activi- ties to carry out such policy, including by im- proving assessment, monitoring, and evalua- tion conducted by the relevant Federal depart- ments and agencies. (Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title V, § 503, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3060.) § 9803. Global fragility strategy (a) Strategy The President, in coordination with the Sec- retary of State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (‘‘USAID’’), the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall establish a comprehensive, inte- grated, ten-year strategy, to be referred to as the ‘‘Global Fragility Strategy’’, to contribute to the stabilization of conflict-affected areas, address global fragility, and strengthen the ca- pacity of the United States to be an effective leader of international efforts to prevent extre- mism and violent conflict. The strategy shall focus on addressing long-term causes of fragility and violence, and shall— (1) consider the causes of fragility and vio- lence at both the local and national levels, the external actors that reinforce and exploit such conditions, and successful prevention strate- gies and their key features; (2) include specific objectives and multisec- toral approaches to reduce fragility and the causes of violence, including those that Page 2301 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 9803 strengthen state-society relations, curb ex- tremist ideology, and make society less vul- nerable to the spread of extremism and vio- lence; (3) encourage and empower local and na- tional actors to address the concerns of their citizens, including those in vulnerable commu- nities, and build community resilience against violence and extremism; (4) address the long-term underlying causes of fragility and violence through participatory, locally led programs, empow- ering marginalized groups such as youth and women, inclusive dialogues and conflict reso- lutions processes, justice sector reform, good governance, inclusive and accountable service delivery, and community policing and civilian security, including by combatting impunity for security forces implicated in violations of internationally recognized human rights and other serious crimes; (5) describe approaches that ensure national leadership where appropriate and participatory engagement by civil society and local partners in the design, implementation, and monitoring of programs; (6) assign roles for relevant Federal depart- ments and agencies to avoid duplication of ef- forts, while ensuring that— (A) the Department of State is responsible for leading the drafting and execution of the strategy, establishing United States foreign policy, advancing diplomatic and political efforts, and overseeing the planning and im- plementation of security assistance and re- lated civilian security efforts; (B) USAID is responsible for overseeing prevention programs, and is the lead imple- menting agency for development, humani- tarian, and related non-security program policy; (C) activities undertaken or supported by the Department of Defense in relation to the Global Fragility Strategy are established through joint formulation and with the con- currence of the Secretary of State; and (D) other relevant Federal departments and agencies support the activities of the Department of State and USAID as appro- priate, with the concurrence of the Sec- retary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International De- velopment; (7) describe programs that relevant Federal departments and agencies will undertake to achieve the stated objectives, including de- scriptions of existing programs and funding by fiscal year and account; (8) identify mechanisms to improve coordi- nation between the United States, foreign gov- ernments, and international organizations, in- cluding the World Bank, the United Nations, regional organizations, and private sector or- ganizations; (9) address efforts to expand public-private partnerships and leverage private sector re- sources; (10) describe the criteria, metrics, and mech- anisms for monitoring and evaluation of pro- grams and objectives in the strategy to ensure planning, implementation, and coordination are appropriately executed and updated; (11) describe how the strategy will ensure that programs are country-led and context- specific; and (12) identify mechanisms or activities to re- duce the risk that the programs, policies, or resources of the United States and its partners will facilitate corruption, empower or abet re- pressive local actors, or be exploited by ex- tremists to gain support for their cause. (b) Stakeholder consultation The Global Fragility Strategy required under this section shall be developed in consultation with representatives of civil society and na- tional and local governance entities in countries and regions described in section 9804 of this title, as well as relevant international develop- ment organizations with experience imple- menting programs in fragile states, multilateral organizations and donors, relevant private, aca- demic, and philanthropic entities, and the ap- propriate congressional committees. (c) Report Not later than 270 days after December 20, 2019, the President shall submit to the appro- priate congressional committees a report set- ting forth the strategy described in subsection (a), which shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex if nec- essary, and shall include, at a minimum, the fol- lowing elements: (1) The objectives, general and specific, of the strategy. (2) An identification of the relevant Federal departments and agencies that will be in- volved and the assignment of priorities to such departments and agencies. (3) A description of the compact-based part- nerships that will be established to ensure local leadership of strategies, policy, and pro- grams, as well as mutual accountability for results and resources needed to support such partnerships. (4) An identification of the authorities, staff- ing, and other requirements, as necessary and appropriate, needed to effectively implement the Global Fragility Strategy. (5) A description of the ways in which United States leadership will be used to enhance over- all international prevention efforts, including through increasing the engagement of the member states of the Group of Seven and Group of Twenty. (6) An identification of which officials of the Department of State, USAID, and the Depart- ment of Defense, with a rank not lower than Assistant Secretary or Assistant Adminis- trator, will be responsible for leading and overseeing the strategy. (7) A list of priority countries and regions selected pursuant to section 9804 of this title, including descriptions of the rationale for such selections. (Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title V, § 504, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3061.) Executive Documents DELEGATION OF CERTAIN FUNCTIONS AND AUTHORITIES UNDER THE GLOBAL FRAGILITY ACT OF 2019 Memorandum of President of the United States, Sept. 4, 2020, 85 F.R. 60349, provided: Page 2302 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 9804 Memorandum for the Secretary of State[,] the Sec- retary of the Treasury[,] the Secretary of Defense[,] the Secretary of Energy[,] the Secretary of Commerce[,] the Director of the Office of Management and Budget[,] the Director of National Intelligence[, and] the Admin- istrator of the United States Agency for International Development By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy, the Sec- retary of Commerce, the Director of National Intel- ligence, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the functions and authorities vested in the President by sections 504(a) and (c) of the Global Fragility Act of 2019 ([title V of div. J of] Public Law 116–94) [22 U.S.C. 9803(a) and (c)]. The delegation in this memorandum shall apply to any provisions of any future public laws that are the same or substantially the same as those provisions ref- erenced in this memorandum. The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register. DONALD J. TRUMP. § 9804. Selection of priority countries and re- gions (a) In general The President, in coordination with the Sec- retary of State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, and the Secretary of Defense, and in consulta- tion with the appropriate congressional commit- tees specified in subsection (b), shall select cer- tain countries as ‘‘priority countries’’ and cer- tain regions as ‘‘priority regions’’ for the pur- pose of implementing the Global Fragility Strategy required under section 9803 of this title— (1) on the basis of— (A) the national security interests of the United States; (B) clearly defined indicators of the levels of violence or fragility in such country or re- gion, such as the country’s or region’s— (i) ranking on recognized global fragility lists, such as the Organization for Eco- nomic Co-operation and Development States of Fragility report, the Fund for Peace Fragile States Index, the World Bank Harmonized List of Fragile Situa- tions, the Institute for Economics and Peace Global Peace Index, and the Holo- caust Museum Early Warning Project Risk Assessment; (ii) ranking on select United States Gov- ernment conflict and atrocity early warn- ing watch lists; (iii) levels of violence, including violence committed by armed groups, state actors, and violent extremist organizations, gen- der-based violence, and violence against children and youth; and (iv) vulnerability to rising sea levels, flooding, drought, wildfires, desertification, deforestation, food insecu- rity, and human displacement; and (C) an assessment of— (i) the commitment and capacity of na- tional and sub-national government enti- ties and civil society partners in such country or region to work with relevant Federal departments and agencies on the Global Fragility Strategy, including by demonstrating commitment to— (I) improving inclusive, transparent, and accountable power structures, in- cluding effective, legitimate, and resil- ient national and sub-national institu- tions; and (II) ensuring strong foundations for human rights, rule of law, and equal ac- cess to justice; and (ii) the likelihood that United States as- sistance under the Global Fragility Strat- egy would measurably help to reduce fra- gility, prevent the spread of extremism and violence, and stabilize conflict-af- fected areas in each such country or re- gion; and (2) in a manner that ensures that not fewer than five countries or regions are selected, in- cluding not fewer than two in which the pri- ority will be preventing violent conflict and fragility, rather than stabilizing ongoing con- flicts. (b) Consultation with Congress Prior to finalization of the selection of pri- ority countries and regions under subsection (a), representatives from the Department of State, USAID, the Department of Defense, and other relevant Federal departments and agencies, as necessary and appropriate, shall brief the appro- priate congressional committees on the coun- tries and regions being considered and shall con- sider congressional input on such prioritization. (Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title V, § 505, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3063.) § 9805. Priority country and regional plans Not later than one year after December 20, 2019, the President, in coordination with the Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Develop- ment, the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agen- cies, shall submit to the appropriate congres- sional committees ten-year plans to align and integrate under the Global Fragility Strategy established pursuant to section 9803 of this title all relevant diplomatic, development, and secu- rity assistance and activities of the United States Government with respect to each of the countries and regions selected pursuant to sec- tion 9804 of this title. Each such country and re- gional plan shall include the following elements: (1) Specific multi-year interagency plans for coordination and implementation under each such plan. (2) An up-to-date baseline analysis for each such country or region, including an analysis of the conditions that contribute to violence and fragility. (3) Prioritized descriptions of the goals and objectives for stabilizing conflict-affected areas, reducing fragility, and preventing the spread of extremism and violence in each such country. (4) Descriptions of how and when the rel- evant goals, objectives, plans, and benchmarks