Peace Infrastructure through Indigenous Systems of Governance in Climate-Driven Conflict: Observations from Maasai Communities in Northern Tanzania
Submission to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) for the study on “The rights of Indigenous Peoples in conflict and post-conflict situations,” 19th Annual Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. 2026
Author: Stephanie Zabriskie
ORCID: 0009-0000-9273-1529
Affiliation: Humanculture (Indigenous-led nonprofit organization)
Capacity: Founder and Executive Director
Abstract
This submission responds to the call for input on the rights of Indigenous Peoples in conflict and post-conflict situations by examining Indigenous systems of governance as operational peace infrastructure under climate-driven stress. Drawing on extended discussions and observational engagement with Maasai communities in northern Tanzania, the submission documents how age-set authority, elder governance, gender-defined roles, and environmental decision-making function in real time to prevent violence, manage scarcity, and maintain social order during recurrent drought conditions. The analysis demonstrates that conflict in these contexts emerges not from environmental stress alone, but from the erosion of Indigenous mobility, land access, and governance systems that historically coordinated grazing, water access, dispute resolution, and peacekeeping. When Indigenous systems remain intact, environmental scarcity is managed collectively and non-violently. When these systems are restricted or overridden, climate stress is converted into conflict pressure. The submission argues that Indigenous systems of governance constitute preventive peace architecture and should be recognized and protected as core components of climate adaptation, conflict prevention, and post-conflict resilience frameworks, consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
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