December 8, 2004

WASHINGTON—Congress has provided $100 million to the U.S. Institute of Peace for construction of a permanent headquarters facility in the FY 2005 omnibus spending bill signed today by President Bush. The Institute's new home is envisioned as a national center for research, education, training, and policy and program development on international conflict prevention, management, and resolution.

"We are gratified by Congress' validation of the Institute's work over the last 20 years in promoting international conflict management and post-conflict reconstruction," said Institute Board Chairman J. Robinson West. "This building will demonstrate that the United States is committed to complementing its military capabilities with increased resources to advance peace," added Richard H. Solomon, President of the Institute.

The headquarters building will be located on a two-and-a-half-acre site at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street—adjacent to the National Mall and overlooking the Lincoln Memorial, with views of America's other prominent monuments and war memorials. The architectural firm of Moshe Safdie and Associates was selected in 2001 to design the new building, which will include a conference facility and an education center for visitors interested in learning about the causes of and non-military responses to international conflict. The Safdie design concept was approved in November 2002 by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C.

The Institute's permanent headquarters project is designed as a public-private partnership, in keeping with the Institute’s mission to serve the American people. Additional private support will be sought for the funds needed to complete the project.

The Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan federal organization created by Congress in 1984. It conducts research, education, and training on the prevention, management and resolution of international conflict through political and non-military means. The Institute also applies its expertise to create and execute innovative conflict management programs around the world, in the Balkans, the Philippines and most recently in Iraq.

Since early 2004, Institute programs in Iraq have sought to prevent sectarian violence, promote the rule of law, and provide conflict management training to a new generation of leaders, including 150 national security officials and 100 civil society leaders from differing ethnic and religious groups in Iraq. The Institute has helped to establish and continues to support the Iraqi Institute of Peace (IIP), which promotes religious tolerance and ethnic coexistence. The Institute is also working with the Iraqi interim government and Iraqi civil society organizations to design and implement a process for the development and adoption of a new constitution, as well as assisting in the design and start-up of the Iraqi Special Tribunal to prosecute war crimes under the Hussein regime.

In addition to providing funding for the Institute's headquarters, the FY 2005 omnibus spending bill makes available nearly $23 million for Institute programs in the current fiscal year and charges the Institute with leading a task force to recommend practical ways of improving UN efforts to achieve the goals of its charter.