Economy and Peacebuilding

This blog post by Alert’s Director of Programmes Phil Vernon is also available on OpenDemocracy

In the context of an ongoing programme on Women’s Economic Empowerment, Alert co-organised a regional workshop with the Economic Community of the Great Lakes (CEPGL) and UN WOMEN on April 25th – 27th in Gisenyi, Rwanda.

International Alert has published a new Economy and Conflict study on the Georgian-Abkhaz context. Prospects for the regulation of trans-Ingur/i economic relations: Stakeholder analysis analyses the views among business communities, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on the issue of regulating economic relations across the river Ingur/i which largely follows the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict divide.

The report analyses views among business communities, particularly small- and medium size enterprises (SMEs), on the issue of the regulating trans-Ingur/i economic relations, Georgian-Abkhaz conflict transformation and the invigoration of the political process. The report is a continuation of an Abkhaz-Georgian action research process which began in 2009 and evolved more generally from International Alert’s Economy and Conflict work in the South Caucasus.

Full report

International Alert has recently launched a paper that explores some profound questions about peace and peacebuilding in South Sudan and Sudan, as a contribution to the debate about how to build a more comprehensive and more stable peace within and between the two Sudans.

The purpose of this document is to give guidance to those interested in initiating or supporting a national‐level process to implement the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. The Fund for Peace (FfP) and International Alert (IA) have joined in this effort as two of the participant NGOs in the international‐level dialogue of the VPs, with funding from the Government of Norway and support from the Government of the Republic of Colombia, two of the governments formally involved in the process.

Guidance note

On 16th October, International Alert’s partner Caucasus Business and Development Network (CBDN) organised the annual Caucasus Tea Festival in Tbilisi, Georgia. The aim of the Festival is to promote sectoral cooperation and popularise the Caucasus Tea brand across the region.

This publication contains a collection of articles produced by Abkhaz and Georgian experts on the subject of the political and economic dividends – or losses – that could be brought about by regulating economic relations across the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict divide. It is an outcome of an action research process that began in 2009 and evolved more generally from International Alert’s Economy and Conflict work in the South Caucasus on engaging economic actors in peacebuilding.

Full report

Bien que de nombreuses études publiées au cours de la décennie qui vient de s’écouler aient souligné le rôle central joué par l’exploitation minière artisanale et à petite échelle du coltan, de l’or et de la cassitérite dans les conflits qui continuent de secouer la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), le mode opératoire des différents acteurs participant à l’exploitation et au commerce de ces minerais reste mal connu.

Full report

Between 29th June and 1st July 2011, International Alert’s Caucasus Business and Development Network (CBDN) partners organised a Food Expo in Kars, Turkey with the aim of promoting Turkish-Armenian and South Caucasian business relations as well as regional economic cooperation and dialogue.

The current phase of oil exploration in Uganda offers a unique opportunity to alleviate poverty and create broad-based development and improved standards of living across the country.

Full report

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.

This practice note explains the importance of using a conflict-sensitive approach to land policy and land governance in conflict-prone or conflict- affected contexts. It offers guidelines and principles on how economic development planners and practitioners can promote conflict-sensitive land policy reform and implementation. Conflict-sensitivity in this context denotes the consideration by policy-makers and practitioners of the range of issues that may have, or may in future, cause and trigger violence.

Practice note