The Commander of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces 3 Infantry Division, Brigadier General Michael Walaka Hyeroba, has called for joint peace and climate action among Uganda, South Sudan and Kenya to address insecurity driven by environmental challenges in cross-border pastoral communities.
“We cannot secure peace without addressing the climate. And we cannot address climate without securing peace,” Brig Gen Hyeroba said.
He was addressing a three-day Uganda-South Sudan Cross-Border Peace and Climate Action Conference organised by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Kaabong District under the theme “Building Peaceful and Resilient Communities Across Borders.”
Brig Gen Hyeroba said prolonged drought, unreliable rainfall, dwindling pasture and drying water sources were increasingly driving pastoralists in Karamoja, Turkana, West Pokot and Eastern Equatoria across borders in search of survival, sometimes resulting in conflict.
He called for shared early warning systems, coordinated use of water and pasture, community-led peace structures, climate-resilient livelihoods and environmental protection to sustain peace across borders.
Brig Gen Hyeroba appealed to respective governments and development partners to invest in water infrastructure, pasture management and cross-border development, noting that access to water and grazing resources could prevent conflicts.
“Karamoja, Turkana and Eastern Equatoria share the same sun, the same drought, the same cattle and the same future. If we build peaceful and resilient communities across borders, our children will inherit grazing land, not battlefields,” he said.
The Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Hon John Baptist Lokii, said peace was essential for prosperity, as insecurity resulted in poverty and underdevelopment. He commended the UPDF for its sacrifices in restoring peace and called for sustained operations against criminals possessing illegal firearms.
The Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Hon Rose Lilly Akello, thanked ADRA for bringing stakeholders together and called for a holistic approach to peacebuilding and climate action, emphasising women’s participation and transparency in security matters.
Members of Parliament representing Dodoth East, Hon Peter Pex Paak; Dodoth West, Hon Baatom Ben Koryang; and Kotido District Woman MP, Hon Hafsa Nuriat, urged stakeholders to implement the conference resolutions.
They observed that pastoral communities across the three countries faced similar challenges, including drought, cattle theft, insecurity and environmental degradation, and stressed that development depended on sustained peace.
