SUPPORT TO FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS AND MIGRATION IN WEST AFRICA: CONSULTANT TO CONDUCT A STUDY ON REGIONAL POLICIES AND RESPONSE TO MANAGE AGRO-PASTORAL MOVEMENTS WITHIN ECOWAS REGION

1. Introduction: the FMM West Africa Project
The FMM West Africa Project,1 funded jointly by the EU and ECOWAS, supports the ECOWAS Commission, ECOWAS Member States and Mauritania in maximizing the development potential of free movement of persons and migration in West Africa.
To achieve this goal, the project has three broad objectives: first, to strengthen the capacity of the ECOWAS Commission to act as a platform for migration policy development and intraregional dialogue on free movement and migration issues; second, to build the capacities of ECOWAS Member States and Mauritania in the areas of migration data management, migration policy development, border management, labour migration and counter trafficking; and, finally, to promote the active engagement of non-state actors and local authorities in information and protection activities for the benefit of migrant and cross-border populations in West Africa.

2. The Context for Proposed Activities
Conflicts between farmers and mobile herders are not new to the West and Central Africa Region. For over 4 decades, conflicts of varying scale have erupted between the two groups. While these clashes are undeniably caused by dispute over the region’s already scarce resources, there are several underlying factors including new land tenure laws in favour of decentralization, climate change and conflict, impacting mobility and traditional migratory routes and patterns in the region that also play a role. This project focuses on three countries in the region: Niger, Nigeria and Mali, in which recurrent conflict has been reported over the past months, resulting most recently in over 40 deaths in Godogodo, central Nigeria in October 2016.
Within the ECOWAS framework, not only is the free movement of people protected, but the free movement of animals is as well. In addition, an international transhumance certificate, founded on a mutual respect between transhumant status and national laws and legitimizing these movements, a production strategy within ECOWAS was established. While this should in theory mitigate conflict, as trans-human farmers are legally allowed to circulate, with their herds, from country to country, following seasonal grazing patterns, it often actually exacerbates conflict. There is thus a need to assess the implementation at the national level of regional policies on pastoralism, in particular the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol of 1998, as well as the African Union’s pan-African pastoral policy so as to offer concrete recommendations on how ECOWAS and the Member States can revise or adjust legislation and policy. This study will look at what mechanisms and policies in place are, how effective (or not) they are (and by extension, whether affected population groups are aware of them) and what areas need reinforcement/need to be revised. Indeed, a 2015 World Bank desk study on land conflict, migration and citizenship highlights the lack of research on the impact of these regional policies on pastoralism.

3. Objectives of the consultancy
The proposed consultancy seeks to conduct a study answering the following question: Why are free movement policies/legislation/practices unable to decrease agro-pastoral conflict in Mali, Nigeria and Niger, and to develop recommendations for ECOWAS. To inform government, stakeholder and partner policy and response, thus contributing to the free movement of persons within the ECOWAS region and prevent future conflicts between herders and farmers.
For more details please see the Terms of Reference https://nigeria.iom.int/sites/default/files/newsletter/Terms%20of%20Refe...