“Regional Security and Integration” are Under Threat in Central Africa

A Fulani man herds cattle in Cameroon A Fulani man herds cattle in Cameroon ILRI

5 June 2019

The Security Council warns confrontation between pastoralists and farmers in Central Africa continues to threaten “regional security and integration”.

On Tuesday 4 June, a senior United Nations (UN) official warned the Security Council that the escalating deadly clashes between pastoralist and farmers continue to threaten safety in countries within Central Africa. The tension between those who practice transhumance, a type of pastoralism that practices “moving livestock from one grazing area to another on a seasonal basis,” and farmers has affected thousands of people, as the resulting conflict from the two groups attacked the security of villages in Central African Republic (CAR).

Tension grows between the two groups as competition for vital resources rises. According to Human Rights Watch, violence “has been linked to intense pressures on land because of expansion of commercially cultivated areas, corporate mining activities, and competitive overuse of...forests, pastoral rangelands, and water sources, exacerbated by climate change.”

Fortunately, the issue is drawing more attention and Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), Fraçois Louncény Fall, recently received a draft regulation instrument on pastoralism and transhumance from a workshop held on 27-28 May in Kinshasa. Additionally, Mr. Fall announced the “UNOCA will continue to support the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) efforts in this area” and will, “ promote cooperation and exchange of good practices between Central, East and West Africa on the issue” with the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel.

Other improvements in Central Africa include Democratic Republic of Congo’s peaceful transition of power after the elections in 2018. CAR also signed the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation and want to lift the arms embargo. Additionally, Cameroon is trying to find “a lasting solution to the crisis in the North-West and South-West regions and encouraged the Government to pursue dialogue to that end”.

 

For more information, visit:

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/06/1039841

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/06/farmer-herder-conflicts-rise-africa

https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/central-africa/security-challenges-pastoralism-central-africa

https://www.pennews.net/international/2019/06/05/concern-over-clashes-between-pastoralists-and-farmers-in-central-africa

 

Author: Giulia DeLuca; Editor: Aleksandra Krol

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