Addis Ababa and New York,   April 29, 2006 – The United Nations Special Humanitarian Envoy, Kjell Magne Bondevik, was made an elder of the Kereyu Gada clan today at a special gathering of pastoralist leaders in Ethiopia’s Oromiya Region.

The event is part of a five-nation mission to the drought-affected countries of the Horn of Africa, in which Mr. Bondevik is advocating for better humanitarian assistance and longer-term development opportunities.

“There are 12 million pastoralists living in the Ethiopia, we have to respect their way of life and improve their conditions, not try to change them as this will cause much bigger problems. This is a tradition that has survived thousands of years,” said Mr. Bondevik.

The traditional meeting on animal skins under acacia trees brought together for the first time pastoralist elders from four of Ethiopia’s pastoral groups, the Special Envoy, Ethiopia’s UN Resident Coordinator and the heads of the UN Country Team.

The elders shared with the visiting delegation the challenges confronting their way of life such as recurrent drought, lack of recognition and appreciation, conflict and restrained trading opportunities. “Pastoralism needs to be recognized as a way of life that is viable and contributes to the economy.   Our livestock is our way of life but we need access to an organized market so we can be sustainable,” said Borena elder, Nura Dida. “We hope that this meeting will become a milestone in pastoralist development”.

Pastoralists make up the majority of people affected by successive drought in the Horn of Africa. “This recent drought has been very severe and we have lost a lot of livestock.   The response from the international community is not as it was in past years.   When our animals die, we die as our lives are tied to them.” Kereyu Council Chief, Gada Boku told Mr. Bondevik.

The Special Envoy told the pastoralists, many who had walked three days to attend the gathering, that he would never forget them and would advocate on behalf of them to ensure their future.   Later in addressing a press conference in the capital, Addis Ababa he said he had raised the pastoralist issue with the Deputy Prime Minister, Addisu Legesse and was told that the Government was looking at organizing legal markets and developing other programmes to support pastoralists.

In Ethiopia, 1.7 million people are currently receiving food aid assistance due to the humanitarian crisis affecting the country’s pastoral and agro pastoral areas.   Ethiopia launched its own Humanitarian Appeal in January requesting US $166 million. To date, $59.6 million (36%) has been received from the international community.  

During his two-day visit, Mr. Bondevik also met Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, donors and the African Union’s Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Rosebud Kurwijila. Tomorrow he travels to Kenya and then Somalia before ending his mission with a meeting with the League of Arab States in Cairo, with the aim of encouraging Arab countries to contribute funds to the critical needs of this region.

For further information, please call:   Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570.

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