Anti-extremism fund to be based in Geneva
Governance. Geneva, February 21 2014 The last round of negotiations on establishing the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) took place on 20 February in Washington. The GCERF will start its operations in Geneva and is tasked with providing funds for projects that strengthen the resilience of communities to violent extremism.
Around 70 delegates and experts from 35 governments, the EU, UN, World Bank, and the NGO and private sectors, met on 20 February in Washington to review and refine the mandate and structure of the GCERF. At the conference, it was confirmed that the GCERF will take up its activities in Geneva as of this summer.
The fund is tasked with providing resources to local community organisations for projects in the areas of education and vocational training, civic engagement, the media and women’s rights. The aim is to strengthen the resilience of communities to violent extremism, which can impede the political and economic development of a region.
In 2013, talks on the mandate, structure and legal basis of the GCERF were held in Lucerne and Geneva, resulting in this last round of negotiations in Washington. The President of the Swiss Confederation, Didier Burkhalter, and US Secretary of State John Kerry reaffirmed their commitment to the GCERF at a meeting held during the annual meeting of the WEF in Davos in January. Several countries have already guaranteed financial contributions to the fund and others have pledged their future support.
