Sudan chairs the IGAD Ministerial Meeting in Kampala

Dr. Mona Ali Mohamed Ahmed, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for the Environment, explained that the IGAD Ministerial Meeting on Land Disputes discussed issues of conflict over land, peace and security in order to achieve justice along with governance, land rights, climate change and sustainable food security.

The meeting held on Friday in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, had heard numerous presentations on the themes of the meeting with the aim of exchanging experiences and learning about best practices and lessons learned, including the experience of the Sudan National Land Commission as an important mechanism in the field of land governance and the elimination of conflicts between multilateral land use agencies.

The Secretary-General noted that the Sudan’s statement touched upon many forms of land conflict and its impact, and attributed this to a shift in patterns of land use without legal reference leading to conflict, land degradation and degradation, from the agricultural pastoral sector, especially in fragile areas, resulting in waste of resources and soil damage.

It also noted the conflict between pastoralists and farmers, with limited resources and accumulated in close spaces, with many negative effects on land and soil degradation and loss of life as a result of that conflict

She also drew attention to environmental and health problems caused by private mining, which relied on the use of hazardous and legally prohibited substances as a major environmental and health problem that burned the State’s heartlands, caused pollution of soil and water sources, loss of resources, many diseases among the population and conflicts between miners and people living in mining areas.

The ministerial meeting was preceded by a meeting of technicians from the States of the region at which the agenda was drawn up and the report and final communiqué of the meeting, which contained the outcomes and recommendations of the high-level regional conference on land and conflict hosted by Uganda from 24 to 26 October.