Historically our ways of life and our human rights were too often depreciated and denied. Some of us experienced violence, forced displacement and sedentarisation. Laws were framed to deny us the same rights that were accorded to settled farmers. Our rights to our lands, territories, and the natural resources we depend on, to self-governance and to exercise our customary laws were not protected. In many countries today these discriminatory cultural prejudices, laws and policies endure despite our countries’ independence and their ratification of international human rights treaties and conventions.
These words come from the Dana+20 Manifesto, which was drafted at a workshop convened in the Wadi Dana Biosphere Reserve in September 2022. The Manifesto was endorsed by 16 delegates who identify with Mobile Peoples communities, as well as social scientists, ecologists, and practitioners in the fields of conservation, development and law.
This article is from PASTRES, a research programme that aims to learn from pastoralists about responding to uncertainty and resilience, with lessons for global challenges. PASTRES is co-hosted by IDS.
