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Pastoralist Voices May 2009 Volume 1 , Issue 15 Photos: OCHA For a Policy Framework on Pastoralism in Africa African Union and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Pastoralists across Africa have called for a continent-wide policy framework that will begin to secure and protect the lives, livelihood and rights of pastoralists across Africa. The African Union has responded to this call and has begun formulating a Pastoral Policy Framework for the Continent. Pastoralist Voices is a monthly bulletin that supports this process by promoting the voices and perspectives of pastoralists, and facilitating information flow between the major stakeholders in the policy process including pastoralists, the African Union, Regional Economic Communities and international agencies. To subscribe to Pastoralist Voices please write to: [email protected] In this issue Marginalization of Pastoralists in the Dar- Marginalization of pastoralists in the Darfur conflict in fur conflict in Northern Sudan Northern Sudan P g 1, 2, 3 and 4 Why Humanitarian interventions are failing to address Lack of support to pastoralists’ security needs in Central and food crisis in pastoral areas pg 1, 4 and 5 East Africa have implications for national and regional security. Making disarmament work in pastoral areas of Southern The conflict in Northern Sudan is being attributed to a large Sudan P g 6 extent to pastoralists’ marginalization in the region. A detailed report by Tuft University’s Feinstein Interna- tional Center is urging Humanitarian actors to take account of Why humanitarian interventions the particular vulnerability of pastoral groups, and to recognize are failing to address food crisis that their needs are qualitatively different from those of IDPs in in Pastoral Areas the region. The report; Livelihoods, Power and Choice; The Vul- (This is summarized from Getting it right. Under- nerability of the Northern Rizaygat, Darfur, notes ` The appall- standing livelihoods to reduce the vulnerability ing violence and associated human rights abuses that have of Pastoral Communities, A report from Humani- been recorded in Darfur are not the subject of this research. tarian Policy Group and Oxfam GB, April 2009) The increasing vulnerability to food insecurity that pastoralists face stems from the failure to put the protection of pastoral livelihoods at the centre of emergency preparedness, planning and response mechanisms. Emergency responses are failing on three counts. They fail to prevent the recurrence of crisis. They fail to support the capacity of the pastoral community to withstand the effects of shocks. And they fail to adapt to the changing nature of shocks. Why the failure to prevent food crisis? In order to be effective, emergency prepared- ness and planning must continue to improve both the timelines and appropriateness of in- terventions, through effective use of early warning systems and contingency planning. These should not be seen as emergency instru- ments but rather as a means of managing pre- dictable risks in pastoral areas and ensuring the protection of livelihoods. Sudan Solder in Darfur where the war has left approximately two hundred thousand people dead and two million displaced. August 06 Photo: Bauer Shane In addition, a livelihoods approach must be the critical base for designing an integrated approach that addresses vulnerability, as it im- proves the sensitivity of monitoring systems to hunger and impoverishment. CONT PAGE 2 1 CONT PAGE 4 CONT FROM PG 1 Pastoralist Voices * OCHA RO-CEA Marginalization of Pastoralists in the Darfur conflict in Northern Sudan We are not seeking to condone or excuse the violence. much less visible, as they live in scattered rural communi- Our aim is to address the gap in understanding about ties in areas that are inaccessible to the international the livelihoods of these groups and their particular vul- community, and they have been alienated by the pariah nerability, and, in so doing, to challenge the oversimpli- status attached to them. They are also widely perceived fied representation of this group as marauding militia. by the international community as less vulnerable than Exclusion, neglect, and marginalization are the unfortu- other groups (despite the dearth of humanitarian assess- nate legacies of colonial and post-colonial policies, ments and lack of evidence). which the international community, including humani- The study uses a livelihoods lens to illustrate the tarian actors, must not continue to legitimize and rein- processes that shaped the vulnerability of the Northern force.’ Rizaygat, and brought them to the point where they Livelihoods, Power and Choice; The Vulnerability were willing to actively support the counterinsurgency against the Darfuri rebels, and subsequently how conflict of the Northern Rizaygat, Darfur related processes have shaped and exacerbate their par- Livelihoods in Darfur are intimately linked to the con- ticular vulnerability. The wider purpose of this research is flict, none more so than the livelihoods of the Northern to promote understanding and raise awareness in Sudan Rizaygat, the camel-herding nomads. and abroad of the livelihood challenges facing specific pastoralist groups in Darfur, and to promote their inclu- sion as stakeholders in relevant national and interna- tional processes to meet humanitarian need and pro- mote peace and recovery. The appalling violence and associated human rights abuses that have been recorded in Darfur are not the subject of this research. We are not seeking to condone or excuse the violence. Our aim is to address the gap in understanding about the livelihoods of these groups and their particular vulnerability, and, in so doing, to challenge the oversimplified representation of this group as marauding militia. Darfuri pastoralists have much in common with pastoralists in other conflict-affected areas of Africa and elsewhere, who face equivalent challenges as a result of their marginalization. Therefore, lessons learned from this very specific case of Darfur have broader implica- tions, not only for prospects of peace and recovery in Darfur, but also for policies around pastoralism, land ten- ure security, climate adaptation, natural resource man- agement, and humanitarian intervention. Ethiopia pastoralist during a ceremony. March 08 From Marginalization to Mal-adaptation Photo: OCHA ETHIOPIA The impoverishment and marginalization of pastoralist groups, within the broader context of the marginaliza- Their notoriety as part of the Janjaweed militia and the tion of Darfur, is an outcome of combined socioeco- government’s counterinsurgency has completely ob- nomic, political, and ecological processes of which the scured from view their pastoralist identity linked to their relationship between the government and the nomads is distinctive nomadic culture of camel-herding (aballa). an overriding factor contributing to their exclusion from Their traditional livestock migration routes extended power and resource distribution. from the semi-arid rainy season pastures (the Jizzu) of North Darfur, to the far south bordering Southern Su- For example, longstanding and inequitable sys- dan and Central African Republic. They are not the only tems of land tenure and natural resource management aballa group in the Darfur region – others include the became entrenched by successive governments and cre- Zaghawa, Zayadia and Meidob. But they are the only ated a hierarchy of rights to natural resources, which aballa group that do not have their own tribal home- were to the disadvantage of the Northern Rizaygat. This land or dar. has exacerbated tensions between pastoralist groups and settled farming groups, and between pastoralists Local actors in Darfur recognized that pastoral- and regional and national authorities. ists were relatively excluded from various forms of inter- national action on Darfur—humanitarian programming, In terms of human development, before the con- international peace processes, and international advo- flict fewer than 10% of pastoralist children attended pri- cacy campaigns. This prompted the first field-based mary school, while access to health services was similarly Feinstein's study since the conflict started that specifi- poor. Local leaders attributed their lack of political repre- cally focuses on pastoralists, and the Northern Rizaygat sentation and presence in local government structures to in particular. Apart from the politicized image of the their relatively poorer access to education and limited Northern Rizaygat as Janjaweed, other reasons for their land rights as compared with sedentary groups (which is exclusion are that they are physically hard to reach and why some are now pushing their people to settle in CONT PAGE 3 2 CONT FROM PG 2 Pastoralist Voices * OCHA RO-CEA Marginalization of Pastoralists in the Darfur conflict in Northern Sudan order to access schools and other services). While their ‘maladaptive’ livelihood strategies These tensions built up over a long time and may have broadened their livelihood options, and pushed the nomads into alliances and violence that strengthened certain livelihood capitals, other critical started to take shape at the end of the eighties, and was livelihood capitals—particularly, social, human, and politi- eventually manifested in their decision in early 2003 to cal capital—have been seriously diminished. The dis- join the government’s counterinsurgency. From 2003 placement of many rural farmers to towns and camps onwards,