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Human Rights and Pastoralists in East Africa

Pastoralists are nomadic herdsmen. In East African countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, they are often discriminated against. Their rights to land and water are increasingly becoming marginalized.

In East Africa, pastoralists live in dry semi-desert areas. They move in large or small family groups from place to place with their cattle. This traditional way of life makes them vulnerable. Because of their cattle, they are dependent on sufficient rain and on other natural resources.
 

Vulnerable groups
Pastoralists comprise a large part of the population in East Africa. However, they enjoy few rights and have little or no influence on policy on land, water and education. This makes them even more vulnerable. In this way, pastoralists belong to the poorest population groups of Africa. Natural resources and cattle thieving frequently give rise to crossborder conflicts with other nomadic tribes and settled farmers.

^{A girl carries water, northeastern Uganda, March 2007. As elsewhere in Africa, the population in eastern Uganda continues to grow as the environment deteriorates, putting more and more pressure on land that grows ever drier. © Euan Denholm/IRIN}

Activities by Justitia et Pax

The pastoralism program started in 2010 to prepare the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the UN Human Rights Council of the United Nations of Tanzania and Uganda in October 2011. Many civil society organisations placed attention on pastoralists in their programs, however still such groups did not receive much attention from a human rights perspective, despite human rights violations taking place on a large scale against pastoralist groups. Justitia et Pax supported local organisations in writing up a stakeholder report for the UN Human Rights Council. Via workshops in Tanzania and Uganda, local representatives of Pastoralist groups and civil society gave input for the reports. The opportunities that the UPR highlighted were discussed in the European (CELEP) and African networks of civil society organisations which led to the development of a common action plan.

All in all, this project was successful in putting pastoralists on the UN Universal Periodic Review agenda and to increase effectiveness and coordination of partners in international advocacy.

However, to sustain these first steps for long term impact and sustainability with regards to human rights policies, it is necessary to continue engagement with the UN human rights mechanisms and to explore and work with different mechanisms (and UN committees) simultaneously. This can be partly taken up by local organisations, but support in these processes will be useful to further increase effectiveness. Furthermore, human rights issues of pastoralists are not limited to the issue of right to land and water, but need to be seen in a broader context of marginalisation and specific difficulties due to their nomadic lifestyle.
 

Pastoralists face serious abuses of their human rights thus, Justitia et Pax:

• Urges the recognition of their rights by the United Nations and by the Dutch government;
• Helps organisations working for pastoralists in East Africa to communicate their message in international and national institutions, for example by providing training on lobbying and familiarizing them with the UN;
• Ensuring that partner organisations submit a shadow report on the interests of pastoralists to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the UN Human Rights Council on Uganda and Tanzania; (see box)
• Informs the UN and the Dutch government about infringements of the human rights of pastoralists.