Pastoralist meeting in Ethiopia
MRG is helping to organize the second meeting of the Pastoralist Elders in Addis Ababa on 14th-16th August 2007. Around 40 people will attend the conference including pastoralists from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, representatives from local NGOs and MRG staff members.
The conference represents the final step in the creation of the Regional Pastoralist Elders' Council. The Council consists of male and female pastoralists, including a number of MPs, who have been elected by National Pastoralist Elder Councils from all four countries. They will receive training on conflict resolution and management at the meeting and will agree an action plan to address cross border and community conflict issues affecting pastoralists in the Horn of Africa.
Read about Eunice Marima, the first head of the Pastoralists Elders' CouncilThe Council aims to bring to the fore the key issues affecting pastoralists –a marginalized nomadic minority who rely on livestock to make their living. Increasing desertification means that pastoralists have to compete for scarce resources and depleted pastures. The easy availability of small arms in the region often aggravates already-tense relations between communities.
Pastoralists too often play little part in the political decisions that affect their lives, but the Elders hope to involve the Regional Council in dialogue with national governments and parliamentarians - including the Regional Pastoralist Parliamentarian Group. MRG believes that it is vital to strengthen conflict-prevention such as these to prevent future clashes in the region at this critical time.