UN peacekeeping related to transhumance

International peace is often undermined by conflicts within rather than between countries. United Nations (UN) peacekeepers need to better understand the nature of these conflicts and how they interlink with national dynamics. The Civil Affairs Team of the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO) produced the report “Preventing, mitigating & resolving transhumance-related conflicts in UN peacekeeping settings: a survey of practice” (2020, 86pp) based on a review of current practices, challenges and opportunities to deal with transhumance-related conflicts. It draws from internal and external expertise and publications that help illustrate the complex web of factors that affect relations between herders and crop farmers in Africa.

The survey covers practices in West & Central Africa as well as in Sudan and South Sudan, where UN peacekeepers support the prevention and/or mitigation of farmer–herder conflicts, especially during transhumance, working with national and local authorities, traditional and community leaders, civil society actors and other international partners. While highlighting what UN peacekeepers already do to address transhumance-related conflicts and the challenges they face, the survey also gives concrete recommendations to improve the impact of UN peacekeeping interventions in pastoral areas.

Posted on 8 December 2020 in Pastoralism & Peacebuilding