PEACE & SECURITY | Creating a more stable world
16 July 2008
Rice Launches New Civilian Response Corps
Rapid response teams tackle challenges of stabilization and reconstruction
Washington -- Helping states emerge from conflicts, disasters and political crises represents a complex international security challenge, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and America’s new Civilian Response Corps offers a new approach to stabilization and reconstruction efforts.
The United States and its allies “have learned that one of the ... challenges in our world now and for many years to come will be to deal with weak and poorly governed states,” Rice said at a July 16 launch ceremony in Washington.
Failing states often become safe havens for arms traffickers, organized crime and terrorists, Rice said. Preventing the collapse of state institutions, or building entirely new governments from scratch, “is a mission that requires the integration of security, diplomacy and development,” she added.
America’s experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq drove home the lesson that the challenges facing post-conflict societies extend far beyond military operations. In addition to the immediate challenges of restoring civil order, these states lacked modern infrastructure, functioning banking and legal systems and other elements essential to establishing a sustainable path toward peace, democracy and a market economy.
“This requires a major, perhaps even a revolutionary, change in the way the U.S. government approaches and resources conflict response,” said John E. Herbst, coordinator for the Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization at the State Department, which oversees the new corps.
Since the office’s creation in 2004, it has been developing the corps as part of its Civilian Stabilization Initiative -- an effort to use a holistic approach to conflict resolution. In recent years, 90 corps members from the State Department have operated pilot projects in Sudan, Chad, Haiti, Lebanon, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, where they have helped local leaders and brought valuable experiences to the effort.
The new corps is a partnership of eight U.S. government agencies: the Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and Department of the Treasury.
Civilian experts from these agencies bring a wide range of skills and expertise, offering foreign partners the tools and advice they need to fix fragile states. These experts can include law enforcement officers and lawyers, economists and agronomists, engineers and public health officials.
The corps was launched following a decision by Congress to provide $75 million in initial funding for the project. The new corps is comprised of two components, a 250-strong “active” cadre of full-time federal employees able to deploy anywhere in the world within 48 hours, and a 2,000 member “standby” pool of government employees who can follow within 30 days.
Officials hope to expand the corps by creating a third, “reserve” component that would offer up to 2,000 private citizens the chance to provide additional skills and capabilities to communities in need. These “reserves” could include police officers, city administrators and port operators.
“America’s federal civilian work force has a long and distinguished history of service in difficult environments abroad. Yet the challenges of the 21st century require a significant increase in our capacity to respond quickly and effectively to emerging threats to the security of the United States and our friends and allies,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. “The Civilian Response Corps is intended to provide this capability.”
A fact sheet on the Civilian Response Corps is available on America.gov.
