Economy and Peacebuilding
Opportunities for linking economic recovery and peacebuilding
As elsewhere, the business community in post-peace agreement Nepal is being held up as the engine of growth and recovery from conflict and poverty. Much hinges on business' ability and willingness to deliver on these expectations, not only in terms of stimulating growth, but also for promoting social equity and cohesion. For policy and programming to be effective, policymakers need to be mindful of and reflect micro- and macro-level realities of the business environment,
This working paper looks at the challenges around linking economic recovery and the wider peace process in Nepal, and seeks to surface district and Kathmandu-level perceptions of relevant stakeholders, especially among the business community.
Peace and Conflict-sensitive Approaches to Development
Peace and Conflict-sensitive Approaches to Development
A briefing for the OECD DAC Task Force on
Conflict, Peace and Development Cooperation
and the Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Network (CPRN)
December 2000
Development in Conflict: A Seven Step Tool for Planners (Version 1)
Development in Conflict: A Seven Step Tool for Planners
(Version 1)
David Nyheim, Manuela Leonhardt, Cynthia Gaigals
FEWER, International Alert, Saferworld
Regional initiatives and the UN 2001 conference: Building Mutual Support and Complementarity
Regional initiatives and the UN 2001 conference:
Building Mutual Support and Complementarity.
Briefing
Georgian-Abkhaz study trip to Cyprus
In March, a selected number of Georgian and Abkhaz experts and businesspeople – including one additional partner from South Ossetia – visited Cyprus to study the Greenline Regulations. These regulations facilitate economic relations across the divided island of Cyprus in the absence of a political solution to the conflict and were adopted in 2004.
The Complexity of Resource Governance in a Context of State Fragility: The Case of Eastern DRC
A host of publications over the last decade have highlighted the important role played by artisanal and small-scale mining of coltan, gold and cassiterite in the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), yet there is still little awareness of the modus operandi of the various actors involved in the exploitation and trade of these minerals. It is vitally important that initiatives aimed at reforming the artisanal mining industry are based on a thorough knowledge of the political, economic and social dynamics at the grassroots level.
A report analyses networks within the mining sector and their links to military, economic and political actors in eastern DRC, focusing on the provinces of North and South Kivu, and Ituri District in Orientale Province.
Understanding the impact of external conflict on UK communities
Many communities have populations with strong ties to countries of heritage which are affected by violent conflict, such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Somalia. These external conflict dynamics are echoed in the UK through diaspora groups, influencing community attitudes and behaviours and also UK government policies. UK foreign policy, particularly towards Afghanistan and Iraq, in turn influences attitudes towards immigrant and diaspora groups.
Taking Bristol, London, Burnley and Bradford as key locations, with an emphasis on communities with links to Somalia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the research aims to shine a light on the links between UK conflict dynamics and external conflicts with a view to establishing some general trends and their implications for practitioners and policy -makers alike.
Research is conducted by International Alert in conjunction with four partner organisations - Conflict & Change based in Newham, Community Accord based in Bradford, The Centre for Good Relations in Burnley and Community Resolve based in Bristol. The University of West England provides academic rigour and oversight. As research progresses, Alert will convene meetings with external policy makers to get their perspectives and their responses to the emerging findings. Research will be completed in 2011 with a final report published in 2012.
This project is conducted alongside the South Asia Programme’s Diaspora work which it both draws from and informs.
Strengthening the economic dimension of peacebuilding
Indeed strengthening the private sector and market-based economies has become a key concern for development assistance, including in countries affected by conflict.
Domestic enterprises building peace
The largest research project on the issue to date has culminated in the 2006 report Local Business, Local Peace
Conflict-Sensitivity for Multinational Companies
Alert believes that by adopting a proactive approach to conflict-sensitive business practice, businesses can reduce risks to their operations in conflict-affected regions and to the communities around them, promote stability and improve relations with local populations. If the economic benefits of their operations are distributed more fairly and transparently, they can play a significant role in building the strong economic foundations that are vital for lasting peace.
We work towards making this possible in three ways – by undertaking research into the links between business and conflict, then developing tools for businesses to use when planning and carrying out work in conflict prone zones, and pushing for the adoption of policy, principles and guidelines so that multinational corporations, governments and multilateral organisations better understand and contribute to building peace. Our CSBP tools and materials have thus far been developed in the following areas:
Red flags Our joint-initiative, with the Fafo Institute for Applied International Studies, serves to alert companies to the risks they face when operating in areas where serious human rights abuses occur. |  |
| Extractive Industries Our toolkit for the oil, gas, mining, and forestry industries was developed over several years with the help and involvement of industry professionals. |  |
Project Finance and Engineering Our expansion of the original CSBP toolkit examines the role of financial institutions and engineering companies in preventing conflict through their operations. Currently, our research on the role of financial institutions and engineering companies’ operations in conflict zones has been documented in the following publications: |  |
Conflict-sensitive business practice: Engineering contractors and their clients (published with Engineers Against Poverty, September 2006)
Conflict and Project Finance: exploring options for the better management of conflict risks (a background paper)
Many international organisations, such as the European Union or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as a number of governments now acknowledge the critical role economic actors play in conflict. They have published key policy documents and are increasingly turning towards the potential of the private sector to contribute to peacebuilding. There is growing debate on the need for clearer international guidelines and constraints on companies operating in conflict prone zones.
In order to ensure that this issue remains on the international agenda, we make specific recommendations at the international policy level to inform thinking on how governments and multi-lateral agencies can integrate conflict-sensitivity into their economy-related policies, for example:
In May 2008, we published the Red Flags document, together with Fafo, drawing on several years of work with other organizations such as Collaborative for Development Action, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, OECD Watch, International Committee of the Red Cross, and Global Witness, to promote a clearer regulatory environment for companies doing business in conflict-prone zones.
Alert is one of seven NGO representatives to the Voluntary Principles on Human Rights and Security Group, which is made up of oil, gas and mining companies, governments and NGOs. The Voluntary Principles aim to guide companies in maintaining the safety and security of their operations within an operating framework that ensures respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
We are also an active member of the UN Global Compact’s multi-stakeholder dialogue on conflict prevention and peacebuilding
Contributing to a peace economy in northern Uganda
This guide provides information and advice primarily for investors that are new to northern Uganda, to assist them in making the right approach to ensure success, maximising both their profit and their contribution to peace and development in the troubled region. It identifies key steps investors can take to ensure their business contributes to a peace economy and avoids aggravating tensions
This guide provides information and advice primarily for investors that are new to northern Uganda, and identifies key steps investors can take to ensure their business contributes to a peace economy.
Synthesis Paper. Strengthening the economic dimensions of peacebuilding
Strengthening the economic dimensions of peacebuilding
Project overview, key issues and recoemmendations
Peace and Economy
It is often said that there can be no development without peace, and no peace without development. The international community now recognises that one of the major elements of strategic peacebuilding is a strong and equitable socio-economic foundation. Since 1999, Alert has been working on a range of initiatives that address economic issues and their links with conflict and peace.
Economy and Conflict strand
Since 2003, Alert has been working to engage the private sectors and economic actors in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, as well as Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorny Karabakh in economic initiatives that contribute to conflict reduction in the South Caucasus.
In the absence of political settlements to the conflicts in the South Caucasus, Alert believes that business offers a common interest for dialogue and cooperation across the region – and an alternative way to address the conflicts. The vision underpinning the work is a region where economic interdependence and mutually beneficial economic cooperation are pillars of stability and peace. The strand’s theory of change and underlying assumptions on the positive role business and economic actors can play in peacebuilding are the result of joint analysis conducted together with Alert’s partners, including From War Economies to Peace Economies and Corruption and Conflict. Alert’s Economy and Conflict work has been instrumental in putting economic issues on the peacebuilding agenda of international and national actors in the region.
The establishment of the Caucasus Business and Development Network (CBDN, www.caucasusbusiness.net) in 2006 witnessed a shift from theory to practice. Since then, CBDN has become a pioneering initiative promoting economic factors and cooperation as a peacebuilding strategy in the region – working towards economically connected and cooperating peaceful Caucasus.
As of today, the work ranges from livelihood and income generation initiatives to promotion of sectoral regional economic cooperation – devising ways to legalise cross-divide economic cooperation and analysing the status of regional economic cooperation and international advocacy work.
Location
Security and Justice from a District Perspective: Grand Gedeh
Security and Justice from a District Perspective: Grand Gedeh
Richard Reeve with Jackson Speare
November 2010
Contact Us
International Alert, 346 Clapham Road
LONDON, SW9 9AP, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7627 6800
Fax +44 (0) 20 7627 6900
