The private sector often is seen as politically neutral, allowing it to serve as a convener and participant in private diplomacy for peace. Because the business community also often works with state and nonstate actors, it can sometimes act as an intermediary to promote peaceful resolutions.

At the Stanley Foundation’s 57th annual Strategy for Peace Conference, October 26–28, 2016, participants in the roundtable “The Power of the Private Sector in Preventing Atrocities and Promoting the Responsibility to Protect” agreed that the successful implementation of the principle requires the participation of the private sector. The roundtable participants recommended that atrocity prevention experts engage with businesses. Roundtable participants also pressed for more case studies on the role of the private sector in atrocity prevention, and for updates to international standards to include more-specific measures for atrocity prevention.

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