On 8-9 October 2019, ACCORD hosted a two-day capacity building workshop for the Minister of Livestock and Animal Health the Honourable Amadou Bi ALIOU, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development the Honourable Honore FEIZOURE and their respective Senior Officials. The workshop was hosted at the conference facilities at the Stade Barthélemy Boganda, Bangui. Given the crucial role of transhumance as a driver of conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR), its importance in the Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic (APPR-CAR) agreement, and to the work of the ministries, it was the workshop’s central theme.
Following the opening remarks from the Ministers and the European Union’s Director the Integrated Approach for Peace and Security, Africa Division, Mr Tomat Stefano the workshop’s programme commenced. The first day of the workshop included presentations on the nature of conflicts between pastoralists and agriculturalists in Africa, the role of these conflicts CAR, how issues of transhumance conflicts are accommodated in the APPR-CAR, and mediation and conflict resolution techniques. This would prepare the 25 participants for day two, which ran a simulation exercise.
The simulation built a scenario in which altercations between framers and herders were beginning devolve into violence and where the two ministries were called upon to mediate and constructively resolve. The simulation exercise provided the opportunity for the workshops participant to implement the lessons and skills gained during the previous day of the workshop. ACCORD’s Head of its CAR programme, Ambassador Sebastien Ntahuga, oversaw the exercise and guided the participants where necessary and provided them feedback to increase their understanding of the technical skills of mediation, its processes, and the importance of cross-cutting issues.
This activity was implemented in the context of ACCORD on-going programme building the capacity and confidence the Government of CAR, the Regional Inter-Governmental Guarantors, and local and national stakeholders engaged in the implementation of the APPR-CAR. This programme is funded by the European Union.
