Melut County Migration Conference held on 19 to 21 June 2012

REPORT

Introduction

This is a report of a Cross–Border Migration Conference held at County Hall in State from 19 to 21 June 2012, organized by Concordis International and funded by the European Union.

Back ground of the Conference

Melut County borders five Counties in Upper Nile State, Baliet to the South, Fashoda to the South West, Manyo to the West, Renk to the North and Maban to the East. Melut County is geographically positioned along the Nile River hence this gives it the advantage of huge grazing land and water for livestock. Pastoralists from White Nile and South Kordofan States of The Republic of Sudan annually migrate into Melut County in Upper Nile State in search this green pasture and water during dry season which means settle in the County for a long period of the year.

There are 4 clans of the nomadic Fallata tribes that come to Melut County, Ambororo, Wela, Nazi (Arabs) and the Gamba. Some of the pastoralists in Melut County do not go back to White Nile or South Kordofan during rainy seasons but continue to graze far away from the host community’s farming areas. Moreover pastoralists have also expressed fears of going back to the North due to instability in border areas.

Before the succession of the Republic of from Sudan, nomadic communities used to freely move into the South Sudan in Melut County with their cattle without restriction and had enjoyed some good relationship with the host communities. In case of conflict over the resources mentioned above, they had a way of resolving their conflict through local mechanism. However with South Sudan‘s independence from July 9th 2011, relationship between the pastoralists and host communities has quickly deteriorated due to internationalization of the North-South border which unfortunately has resulted into the closure of the border thus no free movement of the pastoralists from the Republic North Sudan into The Republic South Sudan, no official flow of trade and moreover the militarization of the border by both governments has intensified and created tension and threats hence causing more difficulties in terms of security, movement of people and trade.

The conference was initiated following the field visit of Concordis Laison officer to Melut County which identified conflict drivers and local disagreements between the pastoralists and the host community. Scrambling over grazing land and water and overgrazing has led to tensions cattle between the Fellata and the host communities. Because of the increased number of pastoralist communities that might settle in the Counties during the rainy season, it is important to engage them in dialogue with the host communities so as to find a peaceful solution throughout their stay in the County

Purpose of the Conference

The conference brought together the Fellata and Arabs pastoralists with the host communities of Melut County to discuss and agree on policies for the migration of pastoralists in the county. It aimed to create space for both communities to plan for communication and cooperation during the implementation of the migration agreement and come up with resolutions that would foster peaceful cross border co-existence.

Conference Participants

The three-day Conference was attended by government officials which included security representatives and the county veterinary department, traditional leaders, civil society representatives, religious leaders, women and youth Representatives from Melut County in Upper Nile State and pastoralists from White Nile and South Kordofan states of Sudan that have already

This document was produced with financial assistance from the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Concordis International and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. settled in Melut. All the seven Payams of Melut (Takuach, Panomdit, Athieng, Wunamum, Goldora, Poloch, Thiengrial and Khormuchuk) were represented by their head chief. The Fellata were represented by an Omda Paramount chief of all the Fallata nomadic tribes in Upper Nile State

Facilitation of the conference

The conference was arranged by Concordis International in collaboration with the Peace Co- coordinator for Upper Nile State. The conference was funded by the European Union. Facilitation at the conference was carried out by Concordis staff Gatkuoth Kai Bol, Programme Coordinator, and Jimmy Okumu Deputy Country Director.

Conference proceedings

The three day conference had 9 sections: 1. Opening 2. Understanding conflict and conflict management 3. Plenary discussion on conflict in Melut 4. Presentation of agreements and structures for border management 5. Discussion in working groups (see Annex for details) 6. Drafting of an agreement in a working group 7. Presentation of the draft to the participants for comments 8. Signing of the final agreement 9. Closing

Opening

Gatkuoth Kai Bol from Concordis International invited a representative from both Christian and Muslim to offer prayer in order to open the conference. After this participants were invited to introduce themselves.

Jimmy Okumu from Concordis International read the conference objectives to the participants. He informed the participants that the conference aimed to create a space for dialogue between the host and the pastoralists’ communities where there could discuss matters of common interest for peaceful co-existence. The second objective was to help the participants to understand and acquire knowledge about conflict, conflict management and non-violent approaches to conflict prevention. The last objective was to disseminate information concerning the high and local agreements related to cross border related issues. This was because the baseline survey that Concordis International carried out in the States and Counties bordering Sudan demonstrated that most people do not have sufficient information concerning issues being discussed at high and local level. Before he concluded he said that “this is an important forum for all of us to feel free to express his or her ideas freely. It is only when we can listen to each other that the three days will be of great benefit to us”.

After this, Gatkuoth Kai invited Paramount chief of Melut to give a brief speech. He started by saying that “Fellata are our people therefore we need to live in harmony and peace with each other. Let forget the past and start a new beginning so as to have peaceful co-existence. Previously each one of us was used by different parties to kill each other; the time has come to say no to that”, he added.

A chance was given to Omda Ahmed, a representative of the Fellata tribe to give a short speech. He told the conference that “we have been living here for a very long time, I was even born here. There is indeed conflict between us the host communities. Some people from the host communities sell land that belong to individuals to Fellata and later other people come to make claims from the Fellata that the land belong to them, hence this aggravates tension and conflict. For us pastoralists faced with serious challenges because we are buying land, water and grazing land for cattle. Despite all this, are living in peace with the communities unlike in Maban and Naser where pastoralists are faced with a lot of problems… harassment and killings”, he said

Jimmy Okumu was called upon to introduce Concordis International. He said that Concordis is an International peace building organization working both in the Republic of Sudan, with its head office in , and the Republic of South Sudan with its head office in Juba. Concordis International is an

2 impartial organization that works with people from both sides affected by armed conflict to develop trust and confidence and facilitate dialogue that leads to both sides finding a solution for peaceful co- existence. He told the conference that the border communities had lived alongside each other but with the internationalization of the border, this past relationship is being challenged at all levels. He continued that Concordis is working in five border States in South Sudan (Western Bahr el Ghazal, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap, Unity and Upper Nile states). The focus is to create space for the borderline communities to plan and search for a mechanism that would facilitate positive relationships among them.

Gatkuoth Kai Bol then invited the Payam Executive Director who officially opened the conference. In his key address to the participants, he thanked Concordis international for their interest in bringing the two communities together. He thanked Melut paramount chief, his deputy and all the Omdas representing their communities. He said that “as the government of The Republic of South Sudan, we have the responsibility over the civilians living in Melut. The Government of South Sudan has a very clear message; every Sudanese citizen in different counties in the State is to be given the protection by the government.”

He said that the conflict between the pastoralists and the host communities is administrative in nature and calls for administrative responses to solve the matter. He said that in Melut County, there is relative peace between the host communities and the pastoralists in the sense that Sudanese citizen’s properties have never been confiscated by force. He said that “You the pastoralists are part of this country; you have the right to life and property where necessary. If someone is planning to take your property by force, please report this to the authority which wills promptly response to assist. Revenge and fighting is no means to strengthen good relationship”.

Understanding conflict and conflict management

Jimmy Okumu led the participants in a discussion about conflict and conflict management. This session included several exercises to help participants understand the role of conflict and relationships in their communities. He asked the participants what conflict means in their communities. One chief said that “conflict is when two people cannot agree over their needs” Jimmy then asked him for example. He explained to the participants that for example two people may not agree over grazing areas and that can cause a great conflict. This discussion prompted Jimmy to ask the participants about what they know are the causes of conflict. Participants responded as follows: a chief from the Fallata opened by saying that conflict is caused by greed, another added that conflict is caused by theft of property and animals, unnecessary burning and cutting of forests, lack of understanding, lack of honesty, spying on other by one group or another, rumour and random taxation in the area. Jimmy took the participants over the causes of conflict raised and asked them to give further examples.

Jimmy then discussed different types of conflict, from a conflict between two individuals to a conflict between communities and international conflicts. He identified similarities and differences in these conflict. Jimmy then asked the participants that before conflict takes place what they notice. Some participants said that when they see that there is increase in harassment of one group or another and other said that, tension among groups, lack of trust in authority, development and favouritism of a place or region can slowly lead to conflict people can become unhappy with other the government or existing authority.

After this, Jimmy led the participants briefly through a discussion to help them understand conflict management. He started by asking the participants how they management conflict from their homes, in their communities and with their neighbours. Participants actively gave examples such calling the people involved to sit and talk, taking the matter to the elders such as chiefs or government authority or religious. They then discussed how to better understand the conflict in order to best manage it. Jimmy gave examples of different ways communities can manage conflicts depending on the type and the people involved.

Jimmy then presented the concept of nonviolence as an alternative to conflict. First the participants identified the results of unaddressed conflict including death, loss of properties, displacement of people, lack of employment and physical harm. Then Jimmy gave several examples of using nonviolent approaches to conflict and how nonviolence can deescalate potentially violent situations.

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Plenary discussion on conflict in Melut

After the interactive presentation on understanding conflict and nonviolent approaches to conflict, Gatkuoth invited the participants to freely share their views on the presentation as well their present and past experience of conflict.

Deng Chan Bomochup, Payam head chief, told the participants that “during the time of Garang death, there was conflict in Khartoum… our brothers Fellata were never affected here. Fellata and Nazi tribes could sleep in the forest and no one harmed them”, he added.

Omda Ajieng of Takuach Payam said that there was an outbreak of fighting in the south between them and the nomads and when a mutual understanding was reached and the conflict was peacefully managed, the community has never experienced fighting again with the nomads. To illustrate how they are managing conflict among themselves, he shared with the participants that “Last week I got two lost rams from Fellata people; I kept them until a woman from Fellata came to take them, had I taken them for myself, I would ruin our relationship with the Fellata people.”

Awang Melut said that since there are different types of conflict, this may mean also using different approaches to manage them. He stressed the fact that certain conflicts because of their nature might be managed only higher by authority. He highlighted on the fact that indeed conflict can have disastrous effect at all levels and it needs to be managed positively.

Melut Deputy paramount chief said that, “to me people know all the process of conflict management… we fight and we are able to solve them, sometime we know what the causes of the conflicts are and whom to approach to make a break through. This conference has given us opportunity to discuss our problem, you nomads are aware of the Dinka traditions; you need to respect our culture for us to live in peace with you”, he said.

Omda Idris started by thanking God and Concordis International. “If a house has a leak, slowly the house will collapse; it needs to mend it before it collapses. There is conflict among us and this organization has made the right decision to bring us together so as to share and get ways of managing them peacefully.”

Omda Ahmed commented that “we have lived for a long time with our Dinka brothers. Thieves have no children, shelter and friends. If such people exist among us, we don’t need to entertain them for they can cause us conflict. For example, one cow from Dinka got lost, we kept the cow and we brought it to Pouluch to the owners. Just imagine that if were greedy and took that one cow! This conference has helped us to face reality as a family. Before we did not get opportunity like this, it is good that the organization has brought us to the table” he concluded.

One participant thanked Concordis and continued to say that “both Dinka and the nomads are not free from committing mistake. The allocation of grazing corridors by corrupt officials from Dinka is the main cost of conflict. Fellata knows the Dinka elders, they should send their delegation very early to discuss with the elders to assign to them grazing route so as to avoid conflict that could arise over such grazing routes.

Presentation of agreements and structures for border management

Jimmy Okumu said that since the independence of South Sudan, discussions concerning relationship between the two nations have led to some agreements. Jimmy Okumu briefed the participants on the agreements signed between the Governments of The Republic of Sudan and The Republic of South Sudan that relate to the management of the border between the two states. Jimmy read some of the key clauses that relate to the issues of the border. These agreements are as follows: Joint Position Paper on Security Arrangements of Post-Referendum Period: 7 December 2010, Joint Position Paper on Border Security: 30 May 2011 Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area: 20 June 2011, Agreement on Border Security and the Joint Political and Security Mechanism: 29 June 2011, Agreement for the Border Monitoring Support Mission: 30 July 2011, Agreement on the Border Monitoring Support Mission: 8 August 2011, Memorandum of Understanding on Non-Aggression agreed at an extraordinary meeting of the Joint Political and

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Support Mechanism: 10 February 2011, Agreement between the Republic of The Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan on the Demarcation of the Boundary 13th March 2012, Framework Agreement on the Status of Nationals of the Other State: Related matters between The Republic of The Sudan and Republic of South Sudan 13th March 2012

Jimmy then discussed the local agreements between border communities including the Cross Border Peace Dialogue between Dinka Malual and Rizeigat in Raja County Nov 2012, Cross Border Peace Conference between Dinka Malual and Rizeigat, Aweil Feb 2012, Abiemnon paper in Unity State 2012, Cross Border Peace Conference between Misseriya and host community in Feb 2012. Bentiu conference March 2012, Longechuk Migration Conference in April 2012 and Maban Cross border Migration Conference in June 2012.

Participants raised some questions concerning the implementation such agreement both at local and international level. Jimmy responded “that the challenge of implementation at a local level lies upon each one of us present here. We need to have a good will to make it work.” At the international level he discussed the ongoing negotiations between the two countries.

Border Peace Committees

Paul Riak presented the initiative taken by Concordis International in collaboration with the different County authorities and the Peace Coordination office at the State level to establish community Peace Committees along the border. He informed the participants that in some counties Peace Committees are already established. He mentioned that Concordis has supported the establishment of the peace committee in Abiemnom and Mayom in Unity State, Fashoda, Renk, Longechuk, Melut, Maban and Makal in Upper Nile State.

Border peace committees will reinforce confidence and trust and work with local authorities to ensure peaceful co-existence. It is hoped that they will be able to organize cross-border peace conferences themselves. Additionally, they will discuss security, movement of people and animals, and movement of goods. They will be able to share information about signs of conflict. They will help improve communication from the grassroots to the states and then to national level. The heads of the border peace committees will be the commissioners and they will include women, youth, chiefs and civil society.

Discussion in working groups (see Annex for details)

The participants were asked to divide into 4 groups: government officials, traditional leaders, civil society group and the nomadic pastoralists. Each group was asked to discuss their needs, expectations/aspirations and challenges, proposed solutions to meet needs and expectations and overcome challenges, what needs to be in the proposed agreement, how will the proposed agreement be implemented and followed up, and who is going to monitor implementation and follow it up. Details of each group’s discussion are listed in Annex 1.

Plenary discussion

Following discussion in the working groups, the groups reported back to a plenary session of the conference. The points made by the various groups as written by them are set out in the attached at Annex 1.

Drafting of the Agreement

Following the discussion, each group (government officials, traditional leaders, civil society group and the nomadic pastoralists), was asked to select 3 representatives to form a committee to draft the proposed agreement based on what had been said by the working groups.

Presentation of the draft and the signing of the final agreement

The committee comprising the representatives from each group produced the proposed draft agreement which was read at a plenary meeting of participants. The participants commented on

5 each article. A final draft of the Agreement was then produced in English and in Arabic singed in the presence of the Commissioner. The agreement is attached as Annex 2.

Closing

Gatkuoth Kai thanked the County Commissioner, other government authority and all the participants. He then invited each leader from each of the working groups to make short speech reflecting on the outcome of the conference.

Pastoralist representative Paramount Chief Ahmed Omer commented that the conference provided them with very important opportunity to discuss what affect them. He thanked Concordis International for recognizing the need for the pastoralists and the host community of Melut to live peacefully together. He gave his thanks to the Government of The Republic of South Sudan for giving them freedom of movement within the Country. Lastly he thanked the Commissioner of Melut for his support and outstanding leadership.

Civil Society Organization representative Ms Angelina commented that the conference provided the participants with new skills in conflict management. She thanked Melut County’s administration for allowing the nomads to live peacefully among us he said. “We recommend Concordis to continuously monitor the agreement and to conduct more conferences in Melut” she added.

Government representative 1st Lt. Awuol thanked Melut County commissioner, the Executive Director and all the participants. “This conference helped us to learn a lot of things in conflict management. I am convinced and I hope that this conference will help us resolve the conflict among us” he said.

Paramount chief of Melut Mr. Philip thanked Melut County’s commissioner and all the participants. “This agreement needs to be respected by all of us. From today, Fellata know where to go and to whom to report to when harassed. If you keep quite with your problem, we will not know your problems” he advised.

UNMISS Civil Affairs officer Mr. Matik, thanked all the participants and the County commissioner. He called upon the participants to implement what has been agreed upon and respect it.

Jimmy Okumu, on behalf of Concordis International he thanked the Commissioner of Melut County and congratulated him upon his re- appointment to lead the people of Melut. He thanked the participants for having taken active part during the conference. He appreciated the collaboration that exists between Concordis International and Melut County authority. Jimmy Okumu concluded by saying that “we have planted a seed in these 3 days which we shall need to take care of and to make it grow. The success of this conference will depend on its positive implementation” he concluded. After the speeches from the above groups, Gatkuoth Kai invited The Melut County Executive Director to give a closing speech a short speech.

Hon. Francis Melut County Commissioner closed the conference by thanking God for the opportunity to host the conference in his County. He stressed that “other Counties do not even have an opportunity to host a conference like this due to ongoing violence, it is a privilege for us to the host conference here’ he said.”

Hon. Francis went further by thanking the Fellata for maintaining their cultural identity by speaking their own languages. He told the conference there is no segregation in South Sudan against anybody on the bases of tribes or religions. He encouraged the Fellata to interact freely with the community and called upon them to allow their women to participate in normal activities with their fellow women in the communities.

Concerning the provision of the clean water as the needs requested by the participants during the conference, he responded that clean water will be provided. He said that the administration has car to provide the water services to the villages. He noted with deep concern that the fuel crisis has provided enormous challenges to realize these services.

He thanked Melut County Veterinary doctor who was present at the conference for his clarification and timely response on issues raised concerning the animal diseases. The County Veterinary Doctor

6 assured both communities about the availability of veterinary drugs in the county and urged them to follow all the procedures needed to have their cattle vaccinated against all possible animal diseases. The commissioner appreciated the representation of the women in the conference. He urged Concordis International to involve more women in the conferences even if it means that they should be the only participants in the conference. He said that most conflicts in the County are also caused by women.

He appreciated Concordis International for the timely intervention to facilitate this conference. He said that he is ready to assist the team in its effort to facilitate peace dialogues among the communities in his County. He advised the Concordis team to inform him in advance if coming to the County and arrange for their accommodation when necessary since this is a great challenge in Melut County. With those words, Hon. Francis, Commissioner of Melut County officially declared the conference closed.

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ANNEX 1: Output from working group discussions

Group 1: Civil Society Organizations (presented by 7 women)

Needs - Needs for small agricultural projects for the group since the border is blocked and nothing is coming by road - Need training and tools - Need for transportation of these goods - Health clinic like midwifery - Need adult education in English language - Provision of clean water for human and animals - Centre for training women group to create income generating activities - Provision of boards for river transportation Expectations - Peacebuilding initiatives between the pastoralists and the host communities - Abolition of tribalism in the County - Abyei issue needs to urgently solved including urgent border demarcation Challenges - Border conflict - Lack of specialized doctors - Lack of mobility between one Payams to another - Entering of the pastoralists with guns in the community - Threats from militias Proposed solutions - Pastoralists should respect the law and the authority of the place in the County - African Union should quickly move towards demarcating the border - Monitoring and following up of the pastoralists during their entrance and exist - Establishment migration routes for the pastoralists - Respect of the agreement by both sides - No carrying of the guns - No burning of the forest Implementation - Joint regular meeting between the pastoralists and the host communities to discuss issues and handle possible conflict easily - Respect the agreement - Inform the relevant authority of their exist from the county when the migration season is over

Group 2: Pastoralists (Fallata Group)

Needs - Security - Education - Need training in health so as to carry out proper health protection for the pastoralists communities in the bush - Need mutually respectful relationships between the host communities through the paramount chiefs of the communities Expectations - Expect to be treated as citizens of South Sudan and not merely guests - Need the government to grant them with ID - Expect to foster mutual peace with the communities Challenges - Different taxes charged in different places where they graze like in Renk, Melut, Maban and Akoko

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- High costs for renting the bush areas for pastures and water - Payment for drinking water - Lack of representation in the taxation chamber Proposed solutions - Fight greed - Theft should be control among both communities - Concordis and other organizations are requested to have contact with the Pastoralists - Stop taxation over animals which are not brought for slaughtering - Taxation should be fixed to avoid double payment of the taxes Contents of Proposed Agreement - Concordis and other NGOs should follow up on any conflict that would emerge - Organization should have knowledge of how much the communities pay to the government and the communities Implementation - All parties should demonstrate good will to implement the agreement to enhance peaceful co- existence among the communities. - Cattle raids or theft of any other goods should be stooped by both communities - Stop burning of forests - Stop hiring the bush and the rivers needed for the rearing of animals - Charges for buying water from the water dams in the areas

Comments from participants - On the grabbing of animals, one woman commented that it is not only the Dinka stealing cattle - Comment from the paramount chief of the Fallata, said that the place belongs to Dinka because they live in Melut - One of the Fallata said that they are born here and they know a tradition that governs the place. But the trend is changing because of accusations against each other be it a Dinka or Fallata - One Chief from the Dinka commented that paying for the bush is not true. Most of the Fallata are given a highland where they could freely graze in their cattle. About the water wells payment was not reported to any chief in the County. - Another participant in the hall commented on the reason why they were paying for bushes because they were burning the forests.

Group 3: Government officials Needs - Health - Road - Clean water - Education - Agriculture Expectations - Development in the 7 Payams in Melut - Fostering of peace between host communities and the nomads Challenges - Lack of roads - Lack of basic commodities - Lack of English teachers - Lack of specialized doctors - Rampart cutting of trees - Burning of forest - Environmental pollution by oil company Proposed Solutions

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- There is need to have budget for county’s development - No cutting of trees - No burning of forests Content of the Agreement - Peaceful co-existence between the host communities and the pastoralists - Respect existing structures ( authority in the County) - When coming with cattle there is need to inform the host communities about their arrival Implementation - Openness, trust and honesty in the implementation - Both parties should respect the signed agreement - Local authorities and law implementing agencies in the County should be involved in the matter between the Fallata and the host communities

Comments from participants - There is need to have trust from the local administration. This need trust and confidence among each to solve problems

Group 4: Traditional authorities Needs - Needs peace with the Fallata - There is need to have an agreement before the migration season and exist - They are reside in the County of Melut - There is need to stop cattle theft among all the two communities Expectations - If there is any problems we should called the meeting between Fallata and local chief. - All the problems between the Fallata and host community can be solved by local authorities. Challenges - Lack of communication between Fallata and host communication. - Lack of implementation of the agreement. Content of the agreement - They should Fallata informed the chief from Payams before they arrived. - Occupying the swampy areas without informing the host communities. - They should Informed us of the tribes who come in that year. Implementation - Making of peace between Fallata and the host community by slaughtering of a goat. - Writing and signing of the document as an agreement on their movement.

Comments from participants - We should have regular meeting with the Fallata so that it will minimize the mistrust from us - All the Fallata must hide the thieves who do take our animals, they should catch them and the notify - For the water points we shall not allowed those who cheat you to sell the petroleum company wells accept small wells for the owners which are dug by us. - Arabs are the one who are burning the forest and they are doing that for two reasons one because of the ticks and other insects. - When pastoralists are entering into the county you should report first to the traditional authorities

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ANNEX 2: Text of the Agreement

Text of the Agreement made between Representatives of the Fellata Wela, Malla and Dinka Agger of Melut County, Upper Nile State, Republic of South Sudan

We the representatives of Dinka Ageer communities and Fellata Wela and Malla pastoralists have hereby met in Melut County, Upper Nile on 19th to 21st June 2012 and agreed upon the following: Affirming that we the host communities of Melut County and the Fellata Pastoralists desire to reconstruct promote and build harmonious relations among ourselves,

Calling upon the Government of South Sudan to provide all communities of Melut and Fellata with clean water, education roads and bridges, vocational training centre, health services and qualified medical personnel,

Calling upon all civilians in Melut to give up their weapons to enhance good security and development,

With thanks to the Payam Executive Director of Melut County for opening and sincere thanks to County Commissioner Melut for closing the conference, to the European Union for funding the conference, to Concordis International for arranging the conference;

We affirm our commitment to implement, respect and abide by this agreement as a mutual understanding between all of us present at this conference.

Part 1 Grazing Routes

Article 1 Pastoralists living within Melut County should inform the Paramount Chief of the County on their intention of migration to different areas (Payams) within the County. Whereas the paramount chief will thereupon call a meeting that will bring the head chief of that Payam and his sub chiefs to discuss the terms and conditions of the migration in order to avoid harassment and possible conflict over allocation of migration routes.

Article 2 Pastoralists coming from outside Melut County, should inform the County authority prior to their entering into the territory. The County authority (Paramount chief) shall there upon call a meeting that will bring the head chief of that Payam and his sub- chiefs to discuss the terms and conditions of the migration in order to avoid harassment and possible conflict over allocation of migration routes.

Article 3 Grazing routes and swampy areas shall be clearly named and the pastoralist/host communities shall be informed accordingly about this so as to avoid possible conflict.

Article 4 The head of the pastoralist’s tribe will accordingly inform the County authority about clans migrating through Melut and about those living within the County for the rest of the migration seasons.

Part 2: Animals’ Health

Article 1 The pastoralist’s leaders shall inform local authority (paramount chief) and Animal Resources Department when they enter into the county and report about the vaccination status of their livestock to avoid transmission of diseases.

Article 2 Pastoralist shall provide County Animal Resource Department in the County with the legal vaccination status of their animals. In case of lack of vaccination evidence, the department above in collaboration with the nomadic pastoralists shall arrange for the vaccination of the animals.

Part 3: Taxation

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Article 1 Animal production tax that used to be collected from the pastoralists shall stop.

Part 4: Security

Article 1 Security will be provided to the pastoralist groups by the South Sudan security forces the same which is provided to citizens of South Sudan. Any incidents between the pastoralists and host communities will be reported to the County Commissioner or the local chiefs.

Article 2 Pastoralists will abide by and respect the laws of the Republic of South Sudan, Upper Nile State and Melut County when in the County.

Article 3 Pastoralists and the Civilians from Melut County shall not carry guns.

Article 4 Chiefs from both host communities and the pastoralists shall cooperate in monitoring and reporting any civilians carrying illegal weapons.

Part 5: Environment

Article 1 Pastoralists and the host communities in Melut shall not cut trees without the permission of the local authorities. Local authorities will discuss where it is permissible to cut trees and recognize the needs of all people to have shelter.

Article 2 Forestry department shall monitor the cutting of trees and report any violations.

Article 3 Any destruction of the forest shall be dealt with according to the local law of the County

Part 6: Dissemination

Article 1 All participants in this Peace Conference will report back to their communities about the decisions made here so that they understand what has been agreed upon

Signed by

Representatives from the host communities, Melut County

Philip Gieth Thon Paramount Chief Melut County

Deng Chan Malek Head Chief Bumachuk Payam

Dhieu Ngor Deng Head Chief Wunamum Payam

AJieng Deng Ajieng Head Chief Takuach Payam

Ngor Akoch Gokwut Head Chief Panomdit Payam

Chuli Ngor Chai Head Chief Thiangrial Payam

Annen Abang Kong Head Chief Goldora Payam

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Fellata Representatives

Ahmed Omer Johannes Paramount Chief of Fellata tribe

Idriss Omer Mohammed Paramount Chief of Arab tribes

Witnessed by

Dr. Manychol Ayuel Dop County Veterinary Director

1st LT. Awuol Monydhot Deng County Police Representative

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