From Local Dialogue to Regional Stability: Strengthening Peace in Eastern Africa

Across Eastern Africa’s borderlands, communities often share culture, history and livelihoods. Yet unclear borders and competition over land and natural resources can quickly turn neighbours into rivals. In late 2025, two complementary initiatives supported under the AU–EAC Action Plan on Border Governance, with technical backing from the African Union Border Programme (AUBP), demonstrated how locally grounded peace efforts can reduce tensions and lay the foundations for more stable and cooperative border governance.

One such context is the border area between Kajokeji County (South Sudan) and Moyo and Yumbe Districts (Uganda), which continues to face recurring tensions linked to unclear border alignments, resource disputes and strained local relations. Territorial uncertainty has contributed to violent incidents, cattle theft and land conflicts, with consequences extending far beyond the immediate border area.

To strengthen peaceful coexistence and, crucially, to build the trust needed to enable future work on the definition of the international border, a multi-day bi-national training workshop was held in Moyo, Uganda, in late November 2025. The workshop brought together more than 60 participants from both sides of the border, including community representatives, traditional leaders, security actors, women’s and youth structures, and local authorities. Participants worked to deepen their understanding of peaceful coexistence, promote non-violent dispute resolution, and prepare the ground for a planned border demarcation process.

A key outcome of the workshop was the joint development of a new set of bilateral peace resolutions. These call, among other measures, for the reactivation of the Joint Technical Border Commission, capacity-building for local leadership and civil society organisations in conflict prevention and management, stronger use of customary and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, and renewed emphasis on the need for clearer border definition. 

The resolutions underline a shared message: clearer border definition is not only a technical matter, but a stabilising step that can reduce uncertainty and help prevent future conflict. The tone of the exchange reflected the significance of the moment. The adopted resolutions have since been transmitted to political authorities in both countries for further consideration at senior level, marking the beginning of a longer-term, structured peace process.

Beyond the South Sudan–Uganda border, similar dynamics shape the Ateker borderlands, where climate stress, pastoral mobility and unclear border alignments have repeatedly amplified cross-border tensions, particularly as communities move in search of water and grazing land. Over the past two years, however, the region has also demonstrated how sustained dialogue can generate momentum for peace.

Following a Peace Caravan in 2023, which created space for exchange and learning, a high-level meeting in Moroto, Uganda in 2024 brought together local leaders and government representatives from Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan. This process resulted in peace resolutions aimed at curbing conflict and strengthening stability across the borderlands.

In December 2025, the process reached a major milestone with the establishment of the Ateker Leaders Council. A permanently anchored leadership and cooperation body bringing together representatives from Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and, for the first time, Ethiopia. The Council provides an institutional bridge between the regional institutions East African Community (EAC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and offers a legitimised platform connecting governments, traditional authorities and local communities. Crucially, it translates commitments into practical structures for dialogue, early warning, and coordinated follow-up, while considering future border processes.

Together, these two initiatives point to the same strategic insight: in border areas, peace cannot be sustained through one-off interventions. It requires locally owned agreements, trusted mechanisms for dialogue and dispute resolution, and institutional anchoring that links communities to national and regional frameworks.

From the jointly developed resolutions in Moyo to the establishment of the Ateker Leaders Council, the late-2025 activities demonstrate how borderlands can shift from zones of recurring tension to platforms for cooperation; when the people most affected are empowered to lead, and when regional structures help convert momentum into durable governance mechanisms.