Supporting big business to build peace - the Business Initiative for Peace and Development

The Business Initiative for Peace and Development (BIPED) was convened by a group of big business leaders in Colombo, Sri Lanka First, which was initially formed to create a public voice for peace after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attack on Katunayake airport in June 2001, which hit the Sri Lanka economy hard.

The breakdown of formal peace talks coupled with increased political instability in late 2003 created renewed urgency for action amongst businesspeople in Colombo. International Alert facilitated joint analysis of the context with Sri Lanka First and a group of ten other business leaders in Colombo to see how they might support the peace process. The group identified two main challenges - the need for influential business leaders to understand their role in supporting the peace process and the need to show unified support for peace.

In 2002 Alert had brought the CEO of the South Africa Business Trust to Sri Lanka to meet with local business leaders and it was agreed that a high-level delegation to South Africa would provide a useful opportunity to learn from the South African experience of business leaders in building peace. The delegation of 8 business leaders visited South Africa in May 2004 and met their South African counterparts who had been critical to the peace process there, including the negotiators for the Government of South Africa and the African National Congress and the leaders of the Consultative Business Movement (created by concerned businesspeople in South Africa in the 1980s) which facilitated political/constitutional dialogues central to the peace process. Each meeting allowed for explanation of the South African experience and separate meetings with the Sri Lankan delegation allowed discussion, reflection, analysis, and the development of ideas for the Sri Lankan context.

Upon their return, the group lobbied for further support from the Sri Lankan business community and formed the Business Initiative for Peace and Development (BIPED). It meets on a monthly basis, with a main aim of promoting inclusiveness in the peace process, having seen in South Africa the need for broad political support for a strong peace process. The group has met with all political parties to better understand their needs and positions. It now hopes to act as a facilitator and convener for these politicians so that the parties can better understand how to reconcile their differences related to the peace process.

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Last updated: March 2006