04.02.10 The Private Sector, Peacebuilding, and Economic Recovery
A Challenge for the UNPBA
NUPI-notat | 34 sider.
This Working Paper is one of nine essays that examine the possible future role of the UN’s peacebuilding architecture. They were written as part of a project co-organized by the Centre for International Policy Studies at the University of Ottawa and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. All of the contributors to the project were asked to identify realistic but ambitious “stretch targets” for the Peacebuilding Commission and its associated bodies over the next five to ten years. The resulting Working Papers, including this one, seek to stimulate fresh thinking about the UN’s role in peacebuilding.
The paper focus on two aspects of the private sector-peacebuilding relationship:
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First, it will examine difficulties related to promoting economic recovery by stimulating domestic and international private sector actors in conflict or post-conflict countries to produce and invest in order to reinvigorate economies, termed here indirect peacebuilding (as peacebuilding may be the desired outcome for policymakers but not the main motivation for corporate actors, who primarily seek a safe return on investment).
- Second, the paper will discuss aspects directly
related to engaging the private sector in peacebuilding tasks such as employment creation for demobilized combatants or victims of armed conflicts, preferential investment in post-conflict development in affected communities, subscription of codes of good corporate behavior, or alliances between private sector foundations and other civil society organizations.
The Future of the Peacebuilding Architecture Project
>> Summary
The private sector has become the darling of international and domestic organizations seeking strategic partners in building sustainable peace, including processes of demobilization of combatants, addressing victims’ needs, and rebuilding wrecked economies. Arguments to attract the private sector combine economic (companies’ economic performance suffers in violent contexts and is likely to improve in peaceful environments) with moral dimensions, appealing to companies’ responsibility in overcoming the causes of armed conflict.
However, boosting economic recovery via private sector engagement and engaging the private sector in specific peacebuilding tasks is easier said than done. Investors shy away from conflict or post-conflict settings, and, after a certain threshold of private sector peacebuilding activism has been reached, efforts to further engage the private sector stall. At the heart of this puzzle is a divergence between economic recovery and peacebuilding processes and an imperfect understanding of the private sector’s organizational make-up and decision-making processes.
At the same time, the importance of the private sector as a crucial source of resources, know how, and institutional capacity for building peace has not diminished. Business needs peace to thrive but, at the same time, peace needs business to progress and consolidate. In light of this challenge, the the UN Peacebuilding Architecture (UNPBA) should promote:
- Improved understanding of the mechanisms of economic recovery and of private sector decision-making in transitional processes in order to ensure private sector support and integration
- Improved understanding of the types of business sectors and companies involved in peacebuilding efforts
- Picking a pilot sector or peacebuilding task to illustrate how peace can gain from business and vice versa
- Greater coherence and synergy with other peacebuilding institutions
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