Diffa Declaration of Commitment (Accord de Diffa)

Export agreement:

Export agreement coding (PDF)

Country/entity: Niger
Region: Africa (excl MENA)
Agreement name: Diffa Declaration of Commitment (Accord de Diffa)
Date: 12 Sep 2019
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Intrastate/local conflict
Niger: local conflicts (1980s - )
The conflict between the Fulani community and Mahamid Arab community were instigated by disputes over access to natural resources in the region of Diffa, in south-eastern Niger. The Mahamid Arabs had settled in Diffa from Chad in the 1970s to flee from draught and in the 1980s following an armed conflict. Disputes with the Fulani pastoralists included access to water points, land use, and animal grazing rights. Tensions over resources have become more urgent given the emergence of Boko Haram across the borders of Diffa, resulting in vast forced displacements of its neighbouring populations from Libya, Mali and Nigeria into the region. This has aggravated existing intercommunal tensions and has proved to be fertile soil for the organisation of militias. In 2017 the government declared a state of emergency in Diffa.
Stage: Framework/substantive - partial
Conflict nature: Inter-group
Peace process: Niger local agreements
Parties: Traditional Chiefs of the Diffa region
Third parties: National and regional authorities
Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD)
Description: Local agreement aiming to reduce tensions between breeders and farmers along the Komadougou river, around the Lake Chad Basin, and oasis basins.

Agreement document: NE_190912_Diffa Declaration of Commitment_tr.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF
Agreement document (original language): NE_190912_Diffa Declaration of Commitment.pdf (opens in new tab)| Download PDF

Groups

Children/youth: No specific mention.
Disabled persons: No specific mention.
Elderly/age: No specific mention.
Migrant workers: No specific mention.
Racial/ethnic/national group: No specific mention.
Religious groups: No specific mention.
Indigenous people: No specific mention.
Other groups: No specific mention.
Refugees/displaced persons: No specific mention.
Social class: No specific mention.

Gender

Women, girls and gender: No specific mention.
Men and boys: No specific mention.
LGBTI: No specific mention.
Family: No specific mention.

State definition

Nature of state (general): No specific mention.
State configuration: No specific mention.
Self determination: No specific mention.
Referendum: No specific mention.
State symbols: No specific mention.
Independence/secession: No specific mention.
Accession/unification: No specific mention.
Border delimitation: No specific mention.
Cross-border provision: No specific mention.

Governance

Political institutions (new or reformed): No specific mention.
Elections: No specific mention.
Electoral commission: No specific mention.
Political parties reform: No specific mention.
Civil society: Page 3: Chapter IV: Recommendations addressed to the State

Article 5: The Traditional Chiefs, signatories of this Agreement, ask the State to support their efforts of pacification along the Komadougou river, around the basin of Lake Chad and the oasis basins in the Diffa region. More specifically, the signatory Traditional Chiefs ask the State to:
....
f) Ensure that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and development associations (DAs) respect their statutory missions and the protocols for their activities, without undermining the State.
Traditional/religious leaders: Entire agreement relates to commitments by traditional leaders.

Page 1: Commitment of traditional leaders to prevent community conflicts along the river
Komadougou, around the Lake Chad basin and the oasis basins of the Diffa region in Niger

Preamble
We, the Traditional Chiefs of the Diffa region, signatories to this Agreement;

Aware that tensions between farmers and breeders have always existed during harvesting season along the Komadougou river, around the Lake Chad Basin, and oasis basins;

Aware that the series of disparate confrontations between farmers and breeders between December 2016 and May 2019 in several of the region’s municipalities, resulting in the death of several people, is likely to turn into conflicts;

Aware that the sharing of natural resources around Komadougou, the Lake Chad Basin, and the oasis basins is a source of tension between farmers and breeders in our respective communities and that it risks turning into conflicts during the annual transhumance of animals ;

Convinced that the knowledge and respect by the Traditional Chiefs and communities of the rules regarding access to shared natural resources are essential for the prevention and concerted management of disputes;

Remembering that for several decades the relationships between the communities we represent were based on the principles of solidarity, brotherhood, and mutual understanding;

Determined to work to pacify coexistence between our communities;
Meeting in Diffa as part of the mediation undertaken since June 2019 by the national and regional authorities, and supported by the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD);

Agree as follows and undertake to implement the provisions of this Agreement in full and in good faith, recognizing our primary responsibility in this regard

Chapter I: General

Article 1: With this agreement, the Traditional Chiefs agree to do everything possible to ease tensions between the communities they represent and thus help prevent the emergence of conflicts.

Chapter II: Causes and consequences of tensions

Article 2: The signatory Traditional Chiefs agree that the tensions between their respective communities along the Komadougou river, in the Lake Chad basin and around the oasis basins in the Diffa region are the result of the following elements:

a)   The reduction of cultivation and grazing areas due to terrorist attacks and measures limiting access to certain production areas, and in a context of increased livestock population and demographic pressure
b)   Lack of knowledge and / or non-compliance with the rules and rights governing rural land;
c)   The lack of coherence and communication between those in charge of land management and the overlap of their skills in a context of increasing pressure;
d)   Damage to rural areas;
e)   Theft of animals;
f)   The slowness of justice in processing the cases submitted to it;
g)   The feeling of injustice and the use of violence to resolve disputes.

Article 3: The signatory Traditional Chiefs agree that the tensions between their respective communities along the Komadougou River, around the Lake Chad basin and the oasis basins in the Diffa region have had the following consequences since 2016:

a)   Dozens of dead and a hundred injured;
b)   The deterioration of social cohesion between farmers and breeders but also the decline in the identity of these;
c)   An increase in illegal possession of firearms;
d)   The arrest and detention of several people.

Chapter III: Commitments of the signatory Traditional Chiefs

Article 4: The signatory Traditional Chiefs jointly commit to

a)   Promoting peaceful coexistence and national unity among the communities they represent;
b)   Condemning any act likely to undermine social cohesion;
c)   Respecting and ensuring respect for the rules of access to shared natural resources as stipulated by the rules governing rural land in force;
d)   Encouraging community leaders to commit themselves to peace by spreading only messages of cohesion and appeasement;
e)   Increasing awareness of the rules of access to shared natural resources and the content of this Commitment;
f)   Reporting to the local Chiefs, as far as possible, the arrival of any breeders during the transhumance season and help denounce the perpetrators in case of damage;
g)   Respecting the dates of the release of fields, set by the authorities;
h)   Asking the citizens settled in territories other than theirs to respect the relevant head of jurisdiction and his acts of conciliation in the event of disputes.

Chapter IV: Recommendations addressed to the State

Article 5: The Traditional Chiefs, signatories of this Agreement, ask the State to support their efforts of pacification along the Komadougou river, around the basin of Lake Chad and the oasis basins in the Diffa region. More specifically, the signatory Traditional Chiefs ask the State to:

a)   Facilitate, through its partners, awareness-raising missions with communities on all the rules governing rural land;
b)   Strengthen the powers of Traditional Chiefs and mayors regarding the rules governing rural land;
c)   Speed up the processing of cases pending before the courts;
d)   Accelerate the establishment of a special security unit in the commune of Chétimari and increase permanent patrols along the Komadougou;
e)   Instruct its representatives, in particular those of the justice, defense and security forces, as well as the prefects and the mayors, to adopt an irreproachable behavior in the treatment of land files;
f)   Ensure that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and development associations (DAs) respect their statutory missions and the protocols for their activities, without undermining the State.

Chapter V: Implementation monitoring
Article 6: The Traditional Chiefs, signatories of this Agreement, agree to meet three times during the first year following the signing of this Agreement, in order to take stock of its implementation and, if necessary, to renew and adjust its content.

Article 7: A Monitoring Committee will be set up, whose mission is to:

a)   Regularly update the signatory parties on the progress made in implementing the commitments made under this Agreement in order to strengthen its scope;
b)   Prevent and manage disputes between the Parties that may lead to non-compliance with this commitment;
c)   Identify, if necessary, additional measures necessary for the process of inter-community reconciliation.

Article 8: The composition of the Monitoring Committee will be formalized by the order of the Governor. Eleven (11) members will be appointed to the Monitoring Committee. They will be the Governor or his representative, the president of the regional council or his representative, a prefect, two Traditional Chiefs, a mayor, a key member of the secretariat of the Rural Code, two representatives of civil society organizations (a woman and a young person) and two Chiefs who acted as mediators in this process.

Chapter VI: Dispute management

Article 9: The traditional chiefs, signatories of this Undertaking will do their utmost to settle amicably and through negotiation any dispute arising between them, in the spirit of cooperation, friendship, and brotherhood which underlies this Agreement.

Article 10: In the event of a breach of the application of this Agreement or the event of a dispute relating to its interpretation, the Parties will refer the matter to the Monitoring Committee so that a consensual solution is identified and applied

Chapter VII: Final provisions

Article 11: The Traditional Chiefs sign this Agreement in three copies in French and, if the need is subsequently expressed by the communities they represent, commit to translating it into Kanuri, Fulfuldé, and / or Hausa.

Article 12: This Agreement shall enter into force from the date of its signature by the Traditional Chiefs.
Done in Diffa, September 12, 2019
Public administration: Page 3: Chapter IV: Recommendations addressed to the State

Article 5: The Traditional Chiefs, signatories of this Agreement, ask the State to support their efforts of pacification along the Komadougou river, around the basin of Lake Chad and the oasis basins in the Diffa region. More specifically, the signatory Traditional Chiefs ask the State to:
...
e) Instruct its representatives, in particular those of the justice, defense and security forces, as well as the prefects and the mayors, to adopt an irreproachable behavior in the treatment of land files;
Constitution: No specific mention.

Power sharing

Political power sharing: No specific mention.
Territorial power sharing: No specific mention.
Economic power sharing: No specific mention.
Military power sharing: No specific mention.

Human rights and equality

Human rights/RoL general: No specific mention.
Bill of rights/similar: No specific mention.
Treaty incorporation: No specific mention.
Civil and political rights: No specific mention.
Socio-economic rights: No specific mention.

Rights related issues

Citizenship: No specific mention.
Democracy: No specific mention.
Detention procedures: No specific mention.
Media and communication: No specific mention.
Mobility/access: No specific mention.
Protection measures: No specific mention.
Other: No specific mention.

Rights institutions

NHRI: No specific mention.
Regional or international human rights institutions: No specific mention.

Justice sector reform

Criminal justice and emergency law: No specific mention.
State of emergency provisions: No specific mention.
Judiciary and courts: No specific mention.
Prisons and detention: No specific mention.
Traditional Laws: No specific mention.

Socio-economic reconstruction

Development or socio-economic reconstruction: No specific mention.
National economic plan: No specific mention.
Natural resources: Page 1: Preamble

...

Aware that the series of disparate confrontations between farmers and breeders between December 2016 and May 2019 in several of the region’s municipalities, resulting in the death of several people, is likely to turn into conflicts;

Aware that the sharing of natural resources around Komadougou, the Lake Chad Basin, and the oasis basins is a source of tension between farmers and breeders in our respective communities and that it risks turning into conflicts during the annual transhumance of animals ;

Convinced that the knowledge and respect by the Traditional Chiefs and communities of the rules regarding access to shared natural resources are essential for the prevention and concerted management of disputes;
International funds: No specific mention.
Business: No specific mention.
Taxation: No specific mention.
Banks: No specific mention.

Land, property and environment

Land reform/rights: No specific mention.
Pastoralist/nomadism rights: No specific mention.
Cultural heritage: No specific mention.
Environment: No specific mention.
Water or riparian rights or access: No specific mention.

Security sector

Security Guarantees: Page 3: Chapter IV: Recommendations addressed to the State
Article 5: The Traditional Chiefs, signatories of this Agreement, ask the State to support their efforts of pacification along the Komadougou river, around the basin of Lake Chad and the oasis basins in the Diffa region. More specifically, the signatory Traditional Chiefs ask the State to:
...
d) Accelerate the establishment of a special security unit in the commune of Chétimari and increase permanent patrols along the Komadougou;
Ceasefire: No specific mention.
Police: No specific mention.
Armed forces: No specific mention.
DDR: No specific mention.
Intelligence services: No specific mention.
Parastatal/rebel and opposition group forces: No specific mention.
Withdrawal of foreign forces: No specific mention.
Corruption: No specific mention.
Crime/organised crime: No specific mention.
Drugs: No specific mention.
Terrorism: Page 2: Chapter II: Causes and consequences of tensions

Article 2: The signatory Traditional Chiefs agree that the tensions between their respective communities along the Komadougou river, in the Lake Chad basin and around the oasis basins in the Diffa region are the result of the following elements:

a) The reduction of cultivation and grazing areas due to terrorist attacks and measures limiting access to certain production areas, and in a context of increased livestock population and demographic pressure

Transitional justice

Transitional justice general: No specific mention.
Amnesty/pardon: No specific mention.
Courts: No specific mention.
Mechanism: No specific mention.
Prisoner release: No specific mention.
Vetting: No specific mention.
Victims: No specific mention.
Missing persons: No specific mention.
Reparations: No specific mention.
Reconciliation: Page 4: Article 7: A Monitoring Committee will be set up, whose mission is to:
...
c) Identify, if necessary, additional measures necessary for the process of inter-community reconciliation.

Implementation

UN signatory: No specific mention.
Other international signatory: No specific mention.
Referendum for agreement: No specific mention.
International mission/force/similar: No specific mention.
Enforcement mechanism: Page 4: Chapter V: Implementation monitoring
Article 6: The Traditional Chiefs, signatories of this Agreement, agree to meet three times during the first year following the signing of this Agreement, in order to take stock of its implementation and, if necessary, to renew and adjust its content.

Page 4: Article 8: The composition of the Monitoring Committee will be formalized by the order of the Governor. Eleven (11) members will be appointed to the Monitoring Committee. They will be the Governor or his representative, the president of the regional council or his representative, a prefect, two Traditional Chiefs, a mayor, a key member of the secretariat of the Rural Code, two representatives of civil society organizations (a woman and a young person) and two Chiefs who acted as mediators in this process.

Chapter VI: Dispute management

Article 9: The traditional chiefs, signatories of this Undertaking will do their utmost to settle amicably and through negotiation any dispute arising between them, in the spirit of cooperation, friendship, and brotherhood which underlies this Agreement.

Article 10: In the event of a breach of the application of this Agreement or the event of a dispute relating to its interpretation, the Parties will refer the matter to the Monitoring Committee so that a consensual solution is identified and applied
Related cases: No specific mention.
Source: Available from https://www.hdcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Accord-de-Diffa-septembre-2019.pdf (Accessed on 1/4/2020).

Commitment of traditional leaders to prevent community conflicts along the river

Komadougou, around the Lake Chad basin and the oasis basins of the Diffa region in Niger

Preamble

We, the Traditional Chiefs of the Diffa region, signatories to this Agreement;

Aware that tensions between farmers and breeders have always existed during harvesting season along the Komadougou river, around the Lake Chad Basin, and oasis basins;

Aware that the series of disparate confrontations between farmers and breeders between December 2016 and May 2019 in several of the region’s municipalities, resulting in the death of several people, is likely to turn into conflicts;

Aware that the sharing of natural resources around Komadougou, the Lake Chad Basin, and the oasis basins is a source of tension between farmers and breeders in our respective communities and that it risks turning into conflicts during the annual transhumance of animals ;

Convinced that the knowledge and respect by the Traditional Chiefs and communities of the rules regarding access to shared natural resources are essential for the prevention and concerted management of disputes;

Remembering that for several decades the relationships between the communities we represent were based on the principles of solidarity, brotherhood, and mutual understanding;

Determined to work to pacify coexistence between our communities;

Meeting in Diffa as part of the mediation undertaken since June 2019 by the national and regional authorities, and supported by the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD);

Agree as follows and undertake to implement the provisions of this Agreement in full and in good faith, recognizing our primary responsibility in this regard

Chapter I:

General

Article 1:

With this agreement, the Traditional Chiefs agree to do everything possible to ease tensions between the communities they represent and thus help prevent the emergence of conflicts.

Chapter II:

Causes and consequences of tensions

Article 2:

The signatory Traditional Chiefs agree that the tensions between their respective communities along the Komadougou river, in the Lake Chad basin and around the oasis basins in the Diffa region are the result of the following elements:

a) The reduction of cultivation and grazing areas due to terrorist attacks and measures limiting access to certain production areas, and in a context of increased livestock population and demographic pressure

b) Lack of knowledge and / or non-compliance with the rules and rights governing rural land;

c) The lack of coherence and communication between those in charge of land management and the overlap of their skills in a context of increasing pressure;

d) Damage to rural areas;

e) Theft of animals;

f) The slowness of justice in processing the cases submitted to it;

g) The feeling of injustice and the use of violence to resolve disputes.

Article 3:

The signatory Traditional Chiefs agree that the tensions between their respective communities along the Komadougou River, around the Lake Chad basin and the oasis basins in the Diffa region have had the following consequences since 2016:

a) Dozens of dead and a hundred injured;

b) The deterioration of social cohesion between farmers and breeders but also the decline in the identity of these;

c) An increase in illegal possession of firearms;

d) The arrest and detention of several people.

Chapter III:

Commitments of the signatory Traditional Chiefs

Article 4:

The signatory Traditional Chiefs jointly commit to

a) Promoting peaceful coexistence and national unity among the communities they represent;

b) Condemning any act likely to undermine social cohesion;

c) Respecting and ensuring respect for the rules of access to shared natural resources as stipulated by the rules governing rural land in force;

d) Encouraging community leaders to commit themselves to peace by spreading only messages of cohesion and appeasement;

e) Increasing awareness of the rules of access to shared natural resources and the content of this Commitment;

f) Reporting to the local Chiefs, as far as possible, the arrival of any breeders during the transhumance season and help denounce the perpetrators in case of damage;

g) Respecting the dates of the release of fields, set by the authorities;

h) Asking the citizens settled in territories other than theirs to respect the relevant head of jurisdiction and his acts of conciliation in the event of disputes.

Chapter IV:

Recommendations addressed to the State

Article 5:

The Traditional Chiefs, signatories of this Agreement, ask the State to support their efforts of pacification along the Komadougou river, around the basin of Lake Chad and the oasis basins in the Diffa region.

More specifically, the signatory Traditional Chiefs ask the State to:

a) Facilitate, through its partners, awareness-raising missions with communities on all the rules governing rural land;

b) Strengthen the powers of Traditional Chiefs and mayors regarding the rules governing rural land;

c) Speed up the processing of cases pending before the courts;

d) Accelerate the establishment of a special security unit in the commune of Chétimari and increase permanent patrols along the Komadougou;

e) Instruct its representatives, in particular those of the justice, defense and security forces, as well as the prefects and the mayors, to adopt an irreproachable behavior in the treatment of land files;

f) Ensure that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and development associations (DAs) respect their statutory missions and the protocols for their activities, without undermining the State.

Chapter V:

Implementation monitoring

Article 6:

The Traditional Chiefs, signatories of this Agreement, agree to meet three times during the first year following the signing of this Agreement, in order to take stock of its implementation and, if necessary, to renew and adjust its content.

Article 7:

A Monitoring Committee will be set up, whose mission is to:

a) Regularly update the signatory parties on the progress made in implementing the commitments made under this Agreement in order to strengthen its scope;

b) Prevent and manage disputes between the Parties that may lead to non-compliance with this commitment;

c) Identify, if necessary, additional measures necessary for the process of inter-community reconciliation.

Article 8:

The composition of the Monitoring Committee will be formalized by the order of the Governor.

Eleven (11) members will be appointed to the Monitoring Committee.

They will be the Governor or his representative, the president of the regional council or his representative, a prefect, two Traditional Chiefs, a mayor, a key member of the secretariat of the Rural Code, two representatives of civil society organizations (a woman and a young person) and two Chiefs who acted as mediators in this process.

Chapter VI:

Dispute management

Article 9:

The traditional chiefs, signatories of this Undertaking will do their utmost to settle amicably and through negotiation any dispute arising between them, in the spirit of cooperation, friendship, and brotherhood which underlies this Agreement.

Article 10:

In the event of a breach of the application of this Agreement or the event of a dispute relating to its interpretation, the Parties will refer the matter to the Monitoring Committee so that a consensual solution is identified and applied

Chapter VII:

Final provisions

Article 11:

The Traditional Chiefs sign this Agreement in three copies in French and, if the need is subsequently expressed by the communities they represent, commit to translating it into Kanuri, Fulfuldé, and / or Hausa.

Article 12:

This Agreement shall enter into force from the date of its signature by the Traditional Chiefs.

Done in Diffa, September 12, 2019