Preventing, Mitigating & Resolving Transhumance-Related Conflicts in UN Peacekeeping Settings: A Survey of Practice

Abstract

This survey of practice, produced by the Civil Affairs Team in DPET/DPO, is based on a review of current practices, challenges and opportunities in peacekeeping settings while also drawing from external expertise and resources that help illustrate the complex web of factors that undermine relations between herders and farmers in the African continent. The survey captures practices from Mali, Central African Republic, Darfur and Abyei, in Sudan, South Sudan and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where UN peacekeepers support the prevention and/or mitigation of conflicts between farmer and herder communities, especially during the time of transhumance, working with a wide range of relevant stakeholders like national and local authorities; traditional and community leaders; civil society actors, and other international partners. While highlighting what is already done by UN peacekeepers to address transhumance-related conflicts, as well as underscoring the challenges they face, the survey of practice also provides concrete recommendations to further improve the impact of these intervention to support sustainable solutions.