Putting Peacebuilding at the Heart of Economic Recovery – Improving Policy and Practice

Last month International Alert participated in the conference 'Sharing the benefits of the commodity boom', organised by Mining on Top: Africa in partnership with the Commonwealth Business Council and UK Trade and Investment.

International Alert has collaborated with CSR Europe, a Brussels-based business network for corporate social responsibility, in developing a report aimed at companies interested in alignin

Last year, staff from our economy and peacebuilding and international institutions teams attended the conference ‘Business after conflict: Investing in the new Africa’ in Nairobi, Kenya.

Zones affected by or prone to conflict pose major challenges to companies. If they make the wrong decisions, they risk disruption to their operations, expropriation of assets, currency restrictions, damage to their reputation and potential legal liabilities.

This publication is aimed at PSD practitioners and provides practical guidance on how to develop and evaluate PSD programming in conflict-affected environments (CAEs). It provides four main areas of guidance:

Resource kit

We are pleased to launch a new practice note in the Peacebuilding Essentials for Economic Development Practitioners series.

On 9th August 2010, Alert convened business leaders from Acholi and Lango sub-regions of Northern Uganda for a meeting titled “Business and Peace in Uganda: Lessons from Sri Lanka and Kenya” aimed at exploring the role of the private sector in ensuring a peaceful electoral process in the 2011 presidential and parliamentary election in Uganda.

Mid February to mid March 2010

As part of our partnership with radio station Passion for the Planet this month you can listen to the following interviews:

Just what is it that causes war and why have we had over 120 of them worldwide since the end of the Cold War in 1989?

What needs to happen for there to be a lasting peace after a conflict?

Can business influence peace? And should local businesses be included in a peace process?

Members of the Chamber of Commerce from São Tomé and Príncipe recently met in Príncipe to discuss the role of the private sector as the country prepares to join the ranks of the oil-producing countries of Africa.

The meeting, which took place at the Príncipe Cultural Center on 20th April, was attended by seven representatives of the national Chamber of Commerce and over 45 members of the Chamber of Commerce of the island of Príncipe.  

International Alert and partners recently organised a regional exchange programme in Kathmandu and in Dharan and Biratnagar, in the eastern Terai region of Nepal, between key Nepali and Sri Lankan business leaders.

International Alert recently launched a new publication series, part of the project ‘Strengthening the Economic Dimensions of Peacebuilding’.

We are pleased to share with you International Alert’s briefing paper on Economic Recovery and Peacebuilding in Nepal. This paper is part of International Alert – Nepal’s working paper series on ‘Equitable economic recovery for peace’, which seeks to share research and stimulate debate on the key conditions, barriers and opportunities for peace through inclusive economic development in Nepal.

International Alert–Uganda recently launched Contributing to a Peace Economy in Northern Uganda: A Guide for Investors, a report that provides information and advice for investors seeking to operate in northern Uganda in order to assist them in maximising profits while ensuring that they contribute to the peace and development of the region. Taking in consideration the sensitivities around investments in northern Uganda, the guide identifies how these can be conflict-sensitive and therefore promote peaceful economic recovery.

International Alert recently brought together in Moscow experts on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for a meeting on Developing Agenda for Peacebuilding and Public Dialogue. Armenian, Azerbaijani, Russian and other international analysts and civil society activists took part in the two-day discussions in Moscow.