By Dorothy Musyoka
Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi, has signed the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Protocol on Free Movement of Persons within the IGAD region.
In a statement released by IGAD the Protocol establishes a framework ensuring the free, safe, and organized cross-border movement of transhumance livestock and herders seeking water and pasture within IGAD Member States.
It emphasizes conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution, promoting peaceful coexistence and lowering the risk of violence. Additionally, it fosters cooperation and coordination among neighboring countries to tackle shared cross-border issues.
“The Protocol is critical as it provides a framework for the free, safe, and orderly cross-border mobility of transhumance livestock and herders in search of water and pasture in IGAD Member States. It focuses on conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution, fostering peaceful coexistence and reducing the risk of violence. It also encourages cooperation and coordination among neighbouring countries to address common cross-border challenges,” read the statement.
The Protocol was adopted during the 72nd Extraordinary Session of the IGAD Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held on 24 June 2021.
Kenya is the sixth IGAD Member State to sign the Protocol, following the Republic of Sudan, the Republic of South Sudan, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and the Republic of Uganda.
The signing was witnessed by an IGAD Secretariat delegation led by Dr. Fatma Adan, IGAD Head of Mission in Kenya, on behalf of the Executive Secretary, H.E. Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, accompanied by Dr. Dereje Wakjira, Director of IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development, Hon. Jonathan Mueke, Principal Secretary, State Department for Livestock Development,Hon. Col. (Rtd) Ali Raso Dido,Hon. Sarah Korere from the Parliamentary Pastoralist Group, and Ambassador Joseph Vungo, the Registrar of Treaties at the State Department for Foreign Affairs.