conflict-sensitive approaches training

Organized with funding from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Aino Friman, [email protected]

26.11.2015

Concepts that change the world, www.saferglobe.fi

CONFLICT-SENSITIVE APPROACHES –training

#konfliktikompassi

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR FRAGILE STATES –programme

http://www.saferglobe.fi/

Content

• SaferGlobe in a nutshell

• Survey results

• Key concepts for today’s topic

• Business activities in fragile areas, challenges and benefits

• Conflict Compass as a tool for business operations

• Exercise and discussion

Concepts that change the worldwww.saferglobe.fi

SaferGlobe: Peace and Security research network• SaferGlobe researches themes of peace and security. We bring multi-

disciplinary expertise to create new perspectives. – We are an independent research network and our members consists only of

private individuals. Despite the English name, we do not have a foreign ”umbrella organization”

• Our research: – Comprehensive: research from arm trade to development cooperation.– Multidisciplinary, practical, critical and solution orientated

• We fund our work by to order –research, fund-raising, project funding, voluntary work and business activities.

• Established 2009, includes approximately 60 researchers, 10 publications annually


Briefly about me• Education:

– Master of Social Sciences, University of Turku, 2012. Major: Political Science. Minors: Development Cooperation, Business, Strategy (National Defense University)

– Master of Science, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, studies ongoing. Major: Agricultural Economics. Minor: Natural resource and environmental economics

– Studies abroad: China (2012), Denmark (2011), South Africa (2011), Uganda (2010)

• Recent work experience– UNDP Afghanistan– Embassy of Finland in Pristina, Kosovo – University of Turku, Department of Political Science and Contemporary History– The Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN, New York

• Also a lot of volunteer work in Finland (Taksvärkki ry, SaferGlobe Finland, Luetaan yhdessä –network) and in Kosovo (Balkan Sunflowers)


Survey results


Key concepts: Fragile areas

• Fragile areas: areas that include countries which have limited capacity 1) to produce and maintain reliable public services and 2) to maintain transparent and open relationship to the civil society.

• Usually they have, for example, high conflict potential: depending on the level of the fragility even a small crisis can escalate to a conflict. – Fragile areas do not have the so called resilience (elasticity,

tolerance for crisis situations).

• Countries are fragile in different ways and there is no universally agreed definition for fragile areas/states.



OECD, 2015

Key concepts: the approaches

• Corporate Responsibility: responsiblity of a company’s actions and their impact to the society (defined by the European Commission).– The concept of corporate responsibility do not directly include conflict-sensitive

approach.

• Risk management: aims to safeguard the company’s business operations in all situations. – Risk management is more an one-way approach.

• Conflict-sensitive approach: two-way approach. Aims to minimalize the negative impacts and maximize the positive impacts. – Conflict-sensitive approach is a win-win opportunity: your business functions

better, the costs are in its minimal and the local benefit from your business more. (crime prevention, peace building)



Conflict-sensitive approach can support corporate responsibility and risk management, not replace them

CORP

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RISK MAN

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CONFLICT-SENSITIVE APPROACH

Business operations in fragile areas

• The company’s business operations can also have an impact to the working environment (espacially in fragile areas). This could be: – neutral effect– increase the conflict potential– support the stabilization of the country.

• When a company enters to a developing/ fragile area, it usually increases the conflict potential. New business operations tend to bring, for example: – unequally distributed prosperity– competition about the jobs– opportunities for theft, blackmailing, kidnapping, etc.


Business operations in fragile areas: concerns

• Even a good business operations can fail badly if the planning and situation analysis have not been done comprehensively.

• The challenges are especially complex to companies which operations are capital intensive and requires widely developed infrastructure (for example extractive sector).– Big companies usually have deeply thought business plans but small or

medium scale operators don’t

• Business operations in fragile areas are a risk – why bother?


Business operations in fragile areas: benefits

• Benefits for the company itself, investors, economy of Finland, economy of the fragile state:– More competition opportunities– Opportunities for growth– Opportunities for the locals: employment and prosperity. Business

as a part of sustainable society.

• Other opportunities, for example:– Growing markets– Usually very cost-effective opportunities– A lot of unused business potential (for example educated labor,

international capital, natural resources, etc.)

• In addition, especially crisis and security business operations are currently a growing international trend.


Our suggestion is to think beyond the comfort zone. Plan wisely, plan with conflict-sensitive approach and create a stabilizing, win-win situation to a fragile

state and to its economy

Build your operations to help promote peace and stability:

Conflict Compass


Our solution: Conflict Compass

• Conflict compass is an app produced with the support of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

• The app is free and available on www.saferglobe.fi/konfliktikompassi

• Currently it is available only in Finnish but we are looking to translate it also to English


http://www.saferglobe.fi/konfliktikompassi

http://www.saferglobe.fi/konfliktikompassi

Conflict Compass is a tool for business operations• Mapping the operating environment

– Conflict analysis – reasons, factors and actors in the conflict– Planning operating models with local stakeholders– Conflict-sensitive working methods –personnel training

• Risks and possibilities of operating in fragile contexts– Resilience –we transfer know-how and chains of production to the host

country– Feedback system – we know when problems arise, and we will react

appropriately– Plan B – the operations can be modified when so needed

• Impact on peace and security– Stability –our operations maximize positive impacts and minimize the

negative ones– Positivity –we will share good results and experiences– Commitment –we have a long-term commitment to the area.


Exercise: how would you advise...?

• Form groups of 4-5 people• Read the country profile

– Half will focus on the situation 1, half on the situation 2• Discuss about the situations by using the conflict compass

guidelines. Think of following questions, for example:– What kind of problems the companies might face? – What are the benefits for doing business in Kaboom? – How these companies could advance conflict-sensitive

approach? What are the main issues to be taken into consideration?

• Time: 10-15 minutes


http://www.saferglobe.fi/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Skenaarioharjoitus-yritys-ENG.pdf

Thank you!Questions? Comments?
