Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start by thanking you all for coming for the launch of the study on Benefits and Challenges of Free Movement of Persons in Africa. This study was jointly commissioned by the African Union Commission (AUC) through the department of Political Affairs (DPA) and the International Organizations for Migration. The study was undertaken following a request by AU Member States during the meeting of the AU STC on Migration, Refugees and IDPs held in Kigali, Rwanda, in October 2017.

I, therefore, want to take this opportunity to thank H.E. Mrs Hope Tumukunde Gasature, the Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the AU for her sterling stewardship as the Chairperson of the STC which helped us in the completion of this study.
I also want to thank the Head of IOM office to Ethiopia, AU, UNECA and IGAD, Ms Maureen Achieng, for a great collaborative work
I extend my gratitude H.E Andreas Gaarder, the Ambassador of Norway to Ethiopia, AU, UNECA and IGAD for their great partnership and support that enabled this study to be conducted.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

The overarching theme of this study rotates around continental unity and integration premised on the noble ideals of Pan-Africanism, which we should embrace.
The Agenda 2063,The Africa We Want, emphasizes the socio-economic and political integration as a way of achieving sustainable development and ensuring effective participation of Africa in the globalized world affairs.
Free movement of persons was found to be one of the important tools to achieve this noble goal. This is already being realized at regional levels through facilitation of free movement of persons, goods and services for nationals of Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

In 1991, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) adopted the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community, in Abuja, Nigeria (commonly known as the Abuja treaty). The primary goal of the Abuja Treaty is the advancement of continental integration through strengthening Regional Economic Communities. The Treaty explicitly calls for free movement of persons, right of residence and right of establishment. Chapter VI, Article 43(2) of the AEC treaty implores AU Member States to develop and adopt a protocol on free movement of persons, right of residence and right of establishment.

While free movement of Africans has registered some level of success within the RECs, inter RECs movement has not been very successful. Generally, African citizens continue to be constrained by bureaucratic red tape impeding their interaction and socialization. There is therefore a need to encourage less stringent border controls and less restrictive visa regimes in order to facilitate free movement of persons within the continent. That is why during the Summit of January 2018, the Assembly of the African Union adopted the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment. Last week, AU Member States Chiefs of Immigration developed guidelines and agreed on the specifications for the Diplomatic, Service/Official and Ordinary African Passport. This is one of the important ways of facilitating free movement and taking pride in our common African identity, common citizenship and common destiny as defined in Agenda 2063.

I am pleased with the progress made in the area of free movement of persons, especially with some countries implementing the policy of visa upon arrival and now we have reached 32 countries having signed the protocol. While this is encouraging news worth celebrating, a lot more needs to be done in relation to ratification of the protocol. To this end, I must congratulate all the countries that have signed the protocol and encourage them to take the next step, to ratify it. I extend my profound gratitude to Rwanda for ratifying the Protocol. This is a lonely place for Rwanda and we all want to see more countries joining Rwanda by ratifying the protocol. The minimum required number of ratifications is 15 for the protocol to come into force. In the final analysis, we aim to achieve universal ratification of the protocol followed by its domestication and implementation at national and regional levels.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

In order to facilitate free movement in Africa, we need a combination of measures undertaken in the short and medium term to speed up the ratification and the implementation process leveraging the rich experiences of the RECs, most notably the East African Community (EAC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We do recognize that some of the measures will take time as we seek to harmonize national laws and practices with the Protocol, but a lot also needs to be done now and not tomorrow. It is in this spirit that we, together with IOM, have undertaken and completed this study aimed at highlighting the benefits and challenges of Free Movement of Persons in Africa.

There is no doubt that free movement of persons will impact positively on various political, social, economic, cultural and developmental fronts. The benefits of free movement of persons include, increased intra-Africa trade and investment; enhanced labour mobility, skills and technological transfer; increased tourism, revenue and cultural integration; industrial growth and job creation opportunities; reduced out-migration to other continents including `brain drain’; opportunity for student exchange through diverse educational opportunities.

We have also highlighted the challenges in this study so that we don’t forge forward blindly, oblivious of potential risk factors. Some of these challenges include National Security concerns such as `transnational crimes’; terrorism and violent extremism, irregular migration, drugs and human trafficking etc. But let me also underscore that these challenges are not insurmountable. Since advantages of free movement of persons far outweigh the disadvantages, free movement of persons should be facilitated while not ignoring the fears, but rather looking at possible solutions to such valid fears.

Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen

Going forward, we plan to get closer to member states through the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to highlight some of these benefits and challenges as we sustain the momentum of popularizing the protocol. To that end, next month we will bring the EAC and ECOWAS together in Dakar, Senegal other regions will follow in due course. I count on your support as we begin to reveal the free movement protocol within your regions.

Avec ces mots, j’ai l’honneur de présenter et de lancer « l’étude des avantages et des défis de la libre circulation des personnes en Afrique »

I thank you for your attention.