INTER-COMMUNITY CONFLICTS in EAST AFRICA Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan

report Land, livelihoods and identities: Inter-community conflicts in East Africa By Laura A. Young and Korir Sing’Oei Turkana children collecting water from a well dug in a dry river bed in Northern Turkana, Kenya. Robin Hammond / Panos. Acknowledgements Abraham Korir Sing’Oei is a co-founder of the Center for This report was funded by the Minority Rights Development. He is a human rights attorney European Union under its Peace- and an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. For more than building Partnership, and by Irish Aid. eight years, Korir has studied and advocated for land rights The authors would like to thank all the and minority rights in Kenya and East Africa, specifically organizations and individuals who through regional human rights bodies including the African participated in this research and in Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Mr. Sing’Oei particular the following for their was lead counsel for the Endorois community in Kenya, invaluable assistance in completing this representing them in their landmark case at the African report: ACORD International, Albert Commission. Mr. Sing’Oei also currently represents other Gomes-Mugumya, Andrew Ole minority groups in ongoing strategic litigation and was a Koisamou, Boma Development Initiative, Centre for Conflict leading actor in the development and drafting of Kenya’s Resolution (CECORE) in Uganda, Daniel Kobei, David Deng, constitutional provisions on minority groups and Endorois Welfare Council, Mary Nzoki, Ogiek Peoples marginalization. Development Program, Patrick Bwire, Paul Oleyo Longony, and Robert Ladu Luki. Minority Rights Group International Programme Coordinators: Chris Chapman and Marusca Minority Rights Group International (MRG) is a Perazzi. Commissioning editor: Beth Walker. Production nongovernmental organization (NGO) working to secure the coordinator: Jasmin Qureshi. Copy editor: Rebecca Lee rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide, and to promote cooperation The Authors and understanding between communities. Our activities are Laura A. Young is a U.S.-trained attorney with several years focused on international advocacy, training, publishing and of experience working on human rights and rule of law issues outreach. We are guided by the needs expressed by our in Africa, specifically focused on countries in transition. Laura worldwide partner network of organizations, which represent has researched and worked closely on several transitional minority and indigenous peoples. justice processes across the continent, with a particular focus on how transitional justice processes impact marginalized MRG works with over 150 organizations in nearly 50 groups such as minorities and refugees, as well as how countries. Our governing Council, which meets twice a year, victims can enhance their engagement with transitional justice has members from 10 different countries. MRG has processes. Currently, Laura is working with ProRights on consultative status with the United Nations Economic and capacity-building projects in partnership with the Maasai, Social Council (ECOSOC), and observer status with the Mijikenda, Ogiek, and Somali communities in Kenya. Ms. African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Young began her career as a community trainer in a (ACHPR). MRG is registered as a charity and a company domestic violence advocacy organization, and worked for a limited by guarantee under English law. Registered charity US based human rights NGO before moving to Nairobi. no. 282305, limited company no. 1544957. © Minority Rights Group International 2011 All rights reserved Material from this publication may be reproduced for teaching or for other non-commercial purposes. No part of it may be reproduced in any form for commercial purposes without the prior express permission of the copyright holders. For further information please contact MRG. A CIP catalogue record of this publication is available from the British Library. ISBN 978 1 907919 15 2. Published December 2011. Printed in the UK on recycled paper. Land, livelihoods and identities: Inter-community conflicts in East Africa is published by MRG as a contribution to public understanding of the issue which forms its subject. The text and views of the author do not necessarily represent in every detail and all its aspects, the collective view of MRG. Land, livelihoods and identities: Inter-community conflicts in East Africa By Laura A. Young and Korir Sing’Oei Contents Executive summary 2 Map 3 Introduction 4 Overview of minorities in East Africa 5 Current access to land and natural resources 8 National legal and policy frameworks 8 Local administrative enforcement 11 Customary access and management regimes 12 Non-recognition of indigenous peoples' livelihoods 13 Women’s access to and control over resources 14 Patterns of conflict 17 Inter-ethnic conflict on traditionally held lands 17 Community in conflict in towns 17 Community in conflict with state and corporate interests 18 Conflict triggers and exacerbating factors 18 Impact of conflicts on minority women 23 Successful conflict mitigation 25 Community-initiated conflict resolution 25 Inter-ethnic conflict in a post-conflict context 26 Conflict with state or corporate actors 27 Role of regional and international mechanisms 29 Conclusion 32 Recommendations 33 References 35 Notes 37 Executive summary In resource-scarce East Africa, minority groups face major children. Women also often bear the brunt of conflicts challenges over the control of and access to land and other over natural resources. Security operations to quell natural resources. Despite national policy regimes that are violence or evict communities expose women to multiple developing in a positive direction, the reality for minority violations of their rights. Moreover, violence between groups and their neighbouring ethnic groups is that land communities leads to attacks on women and children and and natural resources continue to be a major trigger of directly impacts women’s particular property rights within violence. Minorities find themselves competing with other traditional community structures. communities, with the state, and with corporate interests The research for this report reveals that communities for control of resources upon which they depend for their often struggle with multiple types of conflict at once: inter- livelihood, cultural integrity and future development. ethnic competition; conflict with the state; and conflict As globalization, population explosion, and climate with corporate actors. Each of these types of conflict change converge to increase the demand for land, water, requires a different method of resolution. The report forest products and mineral resources within territories highlights that communities themselves are initiating the inhabited by minorities in East Africa, these groups are most effective conflict resolution methods when it comes forced to find new ways to cope with different types of to inter-ethnic violence, most often associated with cattle conflict at once. raiding in pastoralist communities. Effective conflict- This report describes the situation of selected resolution strategies often draw on customary practices, minorities and their neighbouring groups in Kenya, integrated with modern technological advances. The report Uganda and South Sudan’s Jonglei State. Each group has highlights that national law and policies often contradict unique characteristics, including extreme livelihood and undermine customary practices. Moreover, current challenges, vulnerability to conflict, and ongoing conditions of land scarcity, state intervention and resource discrimination, which are common across communities extraction are straining or obliterating customary and countries. Decades of discrimination against minority management in many communities. groups, often as a result of state policy starting in the State-led policy initiatives to resolve conflict between colonial era, has rendered minorities in East Africa poorer communities and state or corporate actors have not proven and with more precarious access to land and natural successful because of lack of implementation and failure to resources than other communities. effectively consult minority communities’ traditional Minorities face such serious challenges for numerous governance structures. Accordingly, many communities, reasons: legal regimes remain unimplemented or result in such as the Endorois, have been forced to become legal further discrimination against minority groups; there are adversaries of the state, addressing conflict through existing conflicts between formal and customary laws; litigation at the national and regional level. population pressures and climate change; lack of This report recommends that governments in the regions coordination in conflict resolution programming and discussed take urgent action to adopt and implement their donor support, and non-recognition of indigenous national policy directives on land and natural resources. livelihoods by states. These policies are generally progressive with respect to Resource conflicts and discrimination lead to negative minority rights and provide a strong basis for supporting the consequences for women from these communities in other recommended actions in the report. particular, as they face double discrimination because of Among other key recommendations, this report urges deeply entrenched patriarchy. Conflicts between formal national governments to develop guidelines on what

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